IN A major capability boost, India can now destroy incoming enemy ballistic missiles fired at it from 5,000 km with the successful test firing of the AD-1 missile launched for the first time on Wednesday off the Odisha coast.

The missile AD-1 is part of the phase 2 development programme of the Ballistic Missile Defence shield and can destroy both ballistic missiles and low-flying fighter aircraft.

“We initially developed the phase 1 capability to destroy incoming missiles of 2,000 km. Wednesday’s test now helped us to intercept any missile of the 5,000 km strike range,” Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chairman Samir Kamat told ANI. “If our enemies target from long range, we now have the capability to intercept. It is a significant jump in our capability against ballistic missiles,” he said.