India successfully test-fires missile interceptor

Bhubaneswar: India on Friday tested a ballistic missile interceptor from a defence base in Odisha to create a shield against incoming enemy missiles, a senior defence official said.

The indigenous Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor missile was fired from Wheeler Island off the state coast near Dhamra in Bhadrak district, about 170 km from here.

It successfully destroyed an incoming ballistic missile - a modified variant of the Prithvi fired from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur on sea in Balasore district, about 70 km away from Wheeler Island.

"The interceptor directly hit the target and destroyed it," S.P. Dash, director of the test range said. The interceptor was fired a few minutes after the target missile was fired.