New Delhi, Nov 12 Defence Minister A. K. Antony on Wednesday congratulated the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on the launch of the surface-to-surface missile 'Shourya'.

Antony said in his message that the successful test-firing of the new state-of-the-art canisterised missile marks another milestone in the country's missile programme.

Earlier today the missile system with a range of 600 kilometres was flight-tested from the Interim Test Range (ITR) at Balasore in Orissa at 11:25 a.m. This developmental flight trial of Shourya missile system is a part of ongoing technology development work undertaken by DRDO.

The Missile system has a unique feature of simplicity of operation and maintenance.

The canisterised missile system can be easily handled, transported and stored within the canister for longer shelf life.

The high maneuverability of the missile makes it less vulnerable to available anti missile defence systems. (ANI)