Akash, the indigenously built surface-to-air medium range missile, was on Wednesday test-fired from the integrated test range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea, about 13km from Balasore in Orissa, for the second time within two days.

The missile, fired from a mobile launcher at 1408 IST, hit a target dropped from an AN-32 aircraft, defence sources said.

The missile, which was test-fired on Tuesday, was also directed at a moving target.

Weighing about 650 kg, Akash uses ramjet propulsion system and has a range of 25km with a 50kg payload. The multi-target missile with a is one of five - Agni, Prithvi, Trishul, Akash and Nag - currently under various stages of development by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The Agni II version, with a range of 2,000 to 2,500km, has become operational while the shorter range Agni I has not yet been handed over to the army.