LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan, a South Asian nation with nuclear capability, says it has successfully test-fired a new missile that "can carry all types of warheads."
The army said in a statement that the country on Saturday fired an "air-launched cruise missile called Hatf-8, or Ra'ad -- which means thunder in Arabic.
The missile has "a range of "350 kilometers" or nearly 220 miles "for now."
And, it has been designed exclusively for launch from a variety of Pakistan's air platforms."
"The missile has a low detection probability due to stealth design and materials used in its manufacturing. The Ra'ad can carry all types of warheads and has an accuracy comparable to Pakistan's longer Babur cruise missile."
The development prompted President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to congratulate the scientists and engineers involved in the project.
"Pakistan's defense will continue to be strengthened as an imperative of national security, they said, and assured all support to Pakistan's strategic program," the army said.
Pakistan and India, its neighbor and nuclear rival, have carried out missile tests in the past and they have become routine.
Both countries reached an agreement in 2006 that stipulates each will notify the other before conducting missile tests, and a Pakistani government official told CNN that Pakistan informed India about this latest test. E-mail to a friend
All About Pakistan
Pakistan successfully test fired a new cruise missile on Saturday that is capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

The announcement was made by the nation's military in a statement, saying that the air-launched Ra'ad (meaning 'thunder' in Arabic) missile has been successfully tested. The missile is constructed using materials and designs specifically developed for stealth and has a range of 350 kilometres, they said.

The missile was developed exclusively in Pakistan, and, according to the statement, has been built specifically with Pakistan's existing air force platforms in mind, in order to give these 'a strategic stand-off capability on land and at sea,'. The statement also said that the missile's accuracy was comparable to Pakistan's long-range Babur missile, and that the missile is capable of carrying "all types of warheads".

Both the Pakistani prime minister, Shaukat Aziz and the president, Pervez Musharraf, congratulated the team of scientists and engineers who developed the new technology. "Pakistan's defense will continue to be strengthened as an imperative of national security, they said, and assured all support to Pakistan's strategic program," according to the army.