India has test fired a nuclear-capable, medium-range ballistic missile, Agni II.

The surface-to-surface missile was test fired off the eastern coast of India, in Orissa state, officials were quoted as saying by local media. The same officials said a mobile rail launcher was used in the late-night operation.

The Agni II is capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to targets of up to a range of 1,500 miles. With a launch weight of 16 tons, the 65-foot surface-to-surface missile can carry a nuclear payload of 1 ton. It takes only 15 minutes for the missile to be readied for firing.

The specific series are considered to be India's most sophisticated missiles. They are being developed by India's Defense Research Development Organization as part of the country's deterrent strategy against neighboring nations, including China and Pakistan, armed with nuclear weapons.

A Defense Ministry officer speaking on condition of anonymity but quoted by Defense News said the Agni II launch was a "training trial to handle the missile at night."

The test launch, conducted at 7:50 pm, however, was ill-fated.

"The first night test firing … from Orissa's Wheeler's Island 10 kilometers from Balasore inside the Bay of Bengal failed," said an Indian Defense Ministry source quoted by the Global Security Newswire. "This was for the first time, a missile was test-fired at night."

"But the test failed to meet many of the required parameters," the unnamed source said.

While there were no problems recorded in the missile launch and the first stage of the missile's separation, problems developed ahead of the separation of the second stage, with the missile going off-course, local media reported.

It is suspected that the container carrying the fuel did not separate, failing to give the necessary thrust, falling down on its own weight, instead.

"The missile might have failed to hit its target due to an operational problem," a DRDO official was cited saying in local media. "It has nothing to do with the time of the day."

A special inquiry has been set up to determine the causes of the ill-fated launch.

India has already tested a 3,000-kilometer range Agni-III missile, the longest in the series that can knock down targets as far off as Beijing and Shanghai, analysts say.

The launch also comes on the eve of a summit between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India and U.S. President Barack Obama.

India hopes the United States will stay engaged in Pakistan and Afghanistan. But India will also be looking to the U.S. president for greater clarity on nuclear technology transfer as the new administration in Washington is seen to be backpedaling on positions agreed to by the Bush administration in 2008.

The former U.S. president is highly regarded in India for bringing India back to the international fold after it tested nuclear weapons in 1998.