The long range ballistic Agni-V missile is displayed during the full dress rehearsal for the annual Republic Day parade 2013 at Rajpath on January 23, 2013 in New Delhi, India.

India successfully launched a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Thursday.

The nuclear-capable Agni-V ICBM was fired from Abdul Kalam island off the coast of the eastern state of Odisha at around 9:53 a.m. local time (11:23 p.m. ET on Wednesday).



India's Defense Ministry said the test was a "major boost" to the country's defense capabilities.

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The same missile has been tested five times over the past six years, with the most recent test prior to Thursday's launch coming in December 2016. That test prompted exasperation from two of New Delhi's most important continental rivals, China and Pakistan.

Relations between China and India deteriorated significantly in 2017, following a protracted border dispute in the western Himalayas. And given the world's two biggest emerging economies are both equipped with nuclear weapons, observers were fearful of escalating geopolitical tensions.