India successfully test fires indigenous inceptor missile 'Ashwin'

India successfully test fired an indigenously developed Advanced Air Defence interceptor missile which is capable of destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile. Dubbed as Ashwin, the missile was test-fired yesterday from the launch complex of Abdul Kalam Island in Bhadrak district of Odisha.

The advanced version of low altitude supersonic ballistic interceptor missile was fired from the Integrated Test Range off the Odisha coast at a ballistic missile, a modified version of Prithvi weapon system.

Quoting Defence Research Development Organisation sources  reports that the test was conducted at 11.18 a.m. yesterday from launch pad number-3 of the Integrated Test Range to validate various



parameters of the interceptor in flight mode.

India is the fourth country to have successfully developed this anti-ballistic missile system, after United States, Russia and Israel. This development now strengthens India's position in the very exclusive Ballistic Missile Defence club of the three countries. The success is likely to pave the way for the supersonic interceptor missile’s induction in the armed forces. The test was the twelfth test of interceptor missiles fired from a warship in the Bay of Bengal near Paradip. Of the 11 tests held earlier, nine have been successful.

The interceptor missile is a 7.5-meter long single stage solid rocket propelled guided missile equipped with a navigation system, a hi-tech computer and an electro-mechanical activator. It weighs around 1.2 tonnes and has a diameter of less than 0.5 meter.