Surface-to-surface missile Agni-II was tested on Sunday from the Integrated Test Range at Wheelers' island in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Orissa.

The missile took off from a mobile launcher at Launch Complex IV at 1255 IST under an overcast sky, according to defence sources.

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Scientific Advisor, Ministry of Defence, V K Atre and Project Director R N Agrawal witnessed the launch along with over 100 scientists.

It was the missile's third test flight. The first was on April 11, 1999 and second on January 17, 2001.

Agni-II, an intermediate range ballistic missile, has a range of 2,000 to 2,500 km.

It can carry both conventional as well as nuclear warheads weighing up to 1,000 kg.

The 20-metre-long missile weighed 16 tonnes and was powered by solid-solid propellants. It had a diameter of one metre.

Its strap down inertial navigation system provided the necessary guidance accuracy and used advanced composite structure for protecting payload during the re-entry phase, the sources said.

According to a defence analyst, it takes only 11 minutes for such a delivery system to travel 2,200 km.