India successfully tests interceptor missile

India today successfully tested an indigenous interceptor missile that destroyed an incoming "enemy" ballistic missile at an altitude of 80 km, an official said.

India on Friday successfully tested an indigenous interceptor missile that destroyed an incoming "enemy" ballistic missile at an altitude of 80 km, an official said.

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During the test, an 'enemy' missile which was a modified version of the Dhanush surface-to-surface missile was fired from a naval ship in the Bay of Bengal to simulate the terminal phase of the flight of a ballistic missile with a range of 1,500 km.

As the incoming missile neared the Wheeler Island off the Orissa coast, a Prithvi air defence missile was launched to intercept it at an altitude of about 80 km and kill it, the official added.

The test was part of the Defence Research and Development Organisation's effort to put in place a ballistic missile shield.