In a statement over the weekend, the Ministry of Defense said it conducted three consecutive flight tests on June 10 and 11 to demonstrate “multi-layered defense” against long-range ballistic missile threats and an anti-ship capability at medium range, Defense News reported.
“The interceptors successfully engaged their respective targets. The systems are designed and developed with latest technologies to address the emerging missile threats,” the statement said. “These tests have put the country in the elite group of nations having BMD (ballistic missile defense) capability to engage up to Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles.”
The statement did not specify the range of the targets engaged in the trials, which were carried out from in Chandipur in India’s eastern Orissa state.
Currently, only a handful of countries such as the United States, Russia, China and Israel have highly advanced missile defense systems.
In a post on X, India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that “Multi-layered BMD capability was successfully demonstrated.”
Analysts said the tested technologies could potentially strengthen India’s missile deterrent capabilities as it faces missile threats from its two nuclear-armed neighbors, Pakistan and China — unresolved border disputes have triggered military tensions with both countries in the past.
MNA
