Text Fwd: Officials: India Missile Intercept Test Succeeds

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Officials: India Missile Intercept Test Succeeds
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Published: 6 Mar 10:16 EST (15:16 GMT)

BHUBANESWAR, India - India staged a missile intercept test March 6 as part of a plan to build a defense system against incoming ballistic missiles by 2010, officials said.

Military engineers said the test was a success, as a "hostile" missile was destroyed in mid-air over the Bay of Bengal off India's eastern Orissa state.

The test was the third successful trial since 2007 of an air defense system capable of detecting, intercepting and destroying medium- and long-range ballistic missiles, officials said in the Orissa capital of Bhubaneswar.

The shield will be capable of high-speed interceptions of missiles launched 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles) away, they added.

On March 4, India also test-fired a supersonic cruise missile it has jointly developed with Russia since 2001. The latest test near rival Pakistan's borders involved a modified BrahMos with a range of 290 kilometers (180 miles).

The Indian army has already acquired the missile, which carries conventional warheads but can be fired from mobile launchers.

India, which has also built an array of nuclear-capable missiles, hopes to test-fire an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) before the end of next year. The Agni-V will have an ICBM range in excess of 5,000 kilometers.

The shorter range Agni-I and Agni-II ballistic missiles are being introduced into India's arsenal, although they are not fully operational.

An Agni-III, with a 1.5-ton payload capacity and a range of 3,500 kilometers - enabling it to strike targets deep inside China - has been tested successfully three times.

India has fought three wars with Pakistan and one with China since independence from British rule in 1947.