India successfully test fires interceptor missile off Odisha coast

Highlights

• Missile was test fired from Abdul Kalam Island in Balasore
• Interceptor was engaged against a Prithvi missile

Balasore: India on Wednesday successfully tested the Advanced Air Defence (AAD) Missile, the second level of the two-tier interceptor missile system that can destroy hostile ballistic missiles.

It was tested for the second time in less than a month, is part of an effort to put in place a multilayer missile defence system.

The interceptor is a 7.5-metre single stage solid rocket propelled guided missile equipped with a navigation system, a high-tech computer and an electromechanical activator, the official said.

The interceptor was engaged against a Prithvi missile fired from launch complex 3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur which took the trajectory of a hostile ballistic missile.

In about four minutes, the interceptor positioned at Abdul Kalam Island in the Bay of Bengal roared through its trajectory to destroy the incoming hostile missile mid-air in an endoatmospheric altitude, the official said.

The interceptor missile had its own mobile launcher, secure data link for interception, independent tracking and homing capabilities and sophisticated radars, said an official.

The AAD missile was successfully test fired off the Odisha coast for the first time in May last year.