Published: 15:49, November 17, 2024 | Updated: 17:09, November 17, 2024
India successfully tests hypersonic missile
By Agencies

In this file photo dated Feb 14, 2024, the Indian Air Force's (IAF) Surface to Air Missile for Assured Retaliation (SAMAR) air defense system fires a missile during rehearsal for 'Exercise Vayu Shakti 2024' at IAF's firing range in Pokhran. (PHOTO / AFP)

NEW DELHI - India has successfully tested a domestically developed long-range hypersonic missile, it said on Sunday, attaining a key milestone in military development that puts it in a small group of nations possessing the advanced technology.

The global push for hypersonic weapons figures in the efforts of some countries, such as India, which is striving to develop advanced long-range missiles.

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The Indian missile, developed by the state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation and industry partners, is designed to carry payloads for ranges exceeding 1,500 km (930 miles) for the armed forces, the government said in a statement.

"The flight data ... confirmed the successful terminal manoeuvers and impact with high degree of accuracy," it added.

The test-firing took place from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam island off the eastern coast of Odisha state on Saturday, it said.

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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called the test a "historic achievement" in a post on X, adding that it placed India among a select group of nations possessing such critical and advanced technologies.