The defense ministry official says the surface-to-surface missile Prithvi II was fired twice on Wednesday from a range in Chandipur in the eastern state of Orissa as a trial by the army.

He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters, and gave no details about whether the test was a success.

The Press Trust of India news agency said the test was successful. An official statement was expected later Wednesday.

The missile already has been tested more than a half-dozen times. However, a test of the same missile three months ago failed due to technical problems.