Russia test-fires nuclear-capable missile

The Russian military test-fired a nuclear-capable short-range Iskander M cruise missile as part of its drills in the country’s southern Astrakhan region.
•    The cruise missile was lanched from Kapustin Yar missile test range on Friday (April 15) and a video of the launch was released by Russia’s Defense Ministry on Monday (April 18).
•    The video shows the missile’s launch and the strike of its target, a site the ministry said was some 200 kilometers from the launch position.
•    The ministry said the site simulated an underground enemy command point.
•    Iskander-M is a variant of the Russian tactical missile system designated SS-26 Stone by NATO. 
•    It can fire two types of missiles, the quasi-ballistic 9M723 and the cruise 9M728. Both types can maneuver quickly on their flight path to make interception by enemy anti-missile weapons more challenging.
•    Earlier India on 14th march 2016 successfully test-fired its indigenously built nuclear-capable intermediate range Agni-I ballistic missile, capable of hitting a target 700 kms away, from a test range off Odisha coast as part of a user trial by the Army.