Washington: Lieutenant General David D Thompson, the vice commander of US Air Force Space Command, on Thursday confirmed that India had carried out a successful test of an anti-satellite missile.
On Wednesday while addressing the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that New Delhi had successfully tested its anti-satellite missile, which had hit a target at an altitude of 300 kilometers (around 186 miles) and India became the fourth country in the world to possess such kind of weapon after China, Russia and the United States.
PM Modi said the operation, called 'Mission Shakti' which stands for "power" in Hindi, would defend the country's interests in space.
Anti-satellite weapons, called ASAT, such as the missile India tested are capable of attacking enemy satellites by jamming communications or destroying them. The weaponry could also provide a technological base for ballistic missile defence capabilities.(UNI)