India claims successful missile interception test
India today successfully used a medium-range nuclear-capable Prithvi II missile to intercept another missile for the first time in an air defence test off the country’s east coast, officials and media reports said.
If the Prithvi can be transformed into a viable missile killer it would vastly boost India’s defensive capabilities, particularly against its nuclear armed neighbour, Pakistan.
The first missile, designated the “attacker”, was launched from the Chandipore test range, some 150 miles north of Bhubaneswar, capital of the Indian state of Orissa.
The “defender” was fired one minute later from the Wheeler’s Island missile testing centre, the officials said. The island, in the Bay of Bengal, is some 100 miles north of Bhubaneswar.
“The test was a success,” the official said. But refused to confirm that the missiles had hit each other.
“We are analysing the data,” he said The CNN-IBN news channel reported a “successful interception.”
