India has successfully test fired an indigenously built advanced air defence (AAD) interceptor missile from the integrated test range (ITR) at Wheeler Island off the Orissa coast.
During the test, the AAD successfully intercepted and destroyed the target missile, a modified surface-to-surface Prithvi missile, at an altitude of 15km over the sea, according to the Economic Times.
AAD missile, positioned at Wheeler Island, about 70km across the sea, received the radar signals from Chandipur and tracked the target fired from a mobile launcher within few minutes and then intercepted it mid air.
The 7m-long AAD interceptor is a single stage solid rocket-propelled guided missile equipped with an inertial navigation system and an electro-mechanical activator.
Features of the interceptor missile include a mobile launcher, secure data link for interception, independent tracking capabilities and a radar.
The recent test on the east coast of Orissa is the fourth consecutive test for a ballistic missile interceptor in India.
India says it will deploy the first phase of the defence shield by 2012 after the completion of a series of trials.
