India Tests Ballistic Missile Interceptor

India has test-fired a domestically developed interceptor missile capable of destroying ballistic missiles, the Hindustan Times reported on Friday.

The Advanced Air Defense (AAD) interceptor missile was fired from Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha in eastern India early on Friday and destroyed the target.

The target was a modified surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missile Prithvi, which was fired from the Chandipur range located some 70 km away from Wheeler Island across the sea.

“The interceptor directly hit the target and destroyed it,” S.P. Dash, the director of the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, was quoted as saying.

The test was aimed at developing India's multi-layer Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system. The last time India successfully tested an AAD interceptor missile was on March 6, 2011.

Source: NEW DELHI, 10 February 2012 - RIA Novosti News (http://en.rian.ru)

Photo: India has test-fired a domestically developed interceptor missile capable of destroying ballistic missiles  (Photo by © AFP/ HO / Ministry of Defence)

(10.02.2012)