• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Navy successfully conducted a maiden flight trial of an endo-atmospheric interceptor missile from a ship off the coast of Odisha in the Bay of Bengal as part of its ambitious ballistic missile defence (BMD) programme.

• The purpose of the trial of the sea-based missile was to engage and neutralise a hostile ballistic missile threat, thereby elevating India into an elite club of nations having such a capability.

• The BMDs are capable of intercepting incoming long-range nuclear missiles and hostile aircraft including AWACS (airborne warning and control systems). 

• India has been developing capabilities to intercept hostile ballistic missiles both inside and outside the earth’s atmospheric limits.

• The endo-atmospheric missiles are the ones that operate within the earth’s atmosphere that covers an altitude below 100 kilometers. The exo-atmospheric missiles are capable of completing missions in the upper-most region of the earth’s atmosphere.

• In November, India successfully conducted the maiden flight-test of phase-II ballistic missile defence interceptor AD-1 that is capable of engaging many different types of targets.

• The AD-1 is a long-range interceptor missile designed for both low exo-atmospheric and endo-atmospheric interception of long-range ballistic missiles as well as aircraft.

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