The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) today successfully test fired indigenously developed an Advanced Area Defence (AAD) interceptor missile from Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast.

The interceptor missiles was test fired to establish a ballistic missile shield for intercepting and destroying incoming missiles, from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur.ITR sources said the interceptor missile was test fired from the defence testing facility at the Abdul Kalam island in the Bay of Bengal, and it hit the incoming surface-to-surface target missile, a modified indigenously built ‘Prithvi II, posing as an enemy missile which lifted off from a mobile launcher from the ITR at Chandipur-on-sea few minutes before the interceptor missile was test fired .

The Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor missile using a radio frequency seeker on-board was blasted off from Wheeler Island about 70 km across the sea from Chandipur and it destroyed the target missile in mid air over Bay of Bengal in an endo atmospheric altitude at less than 30 kms.

The DRDO termed the test fire of the interceptor missile a successful mission. The seven-meter-long ADD interceptor is a single stage solid rocket-propelled guided missile, equipped with an inertial navigation system, a hi-tech computer and an electro-mechanical activator totally under command by the data up linked from the sophisticated ground based radars to the interceptor, defence sources said.