Defense officials in India have successfully test fired a ballistic interceptor missile, Advanced Air Defence (AAD) that is capable of incoming enemy missiles in the air.

The indigenously developed interceptor was test fired from the Odisha coast. A spokesman for India's Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said that the interceptor missile would help India shield itself against foreign missiles.

The interceptor missile hit the target at 12.52 pm at an altitude of about 15 km off the Odisha coast, according to the spokesman. A modified surface-to-surface Prithvi missile was used as an incoming enemy missile. The attacking missile was launched from a mobile launcher at around 12.52 pm of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-Sea and the interceptor AAD was launched from a location off the Wheeler Island on Bay of Bengal.

The AAD successfully destroyed the hostile missile in the air within four minutes. Officials said that the interceptor is in the form of a 7.5 metre-long single-stage rocket propelled guided missile that is equipped with a navigation system, a hi-tech computer and an electro-mechanical activator. It is capable of noting the location of the hostile objects with the help of tracking radars.