NEW DELHI, 28 November 2006 — Indian scientists yesterday succeeded in intercepting a missile, clearing the way for the country to join the elite club of nations that have working missile shields.

The Defense Ministry said that the country carried out its first-ever successful test interception of a ballistic missile, using a second missile to kill the incoming rocket. The experiment involved two surface-to-surface Prithvi II missiles and was carried out over the Bay of Bengal.

An anti-missile system would vastly boost India’s defensive capabilities, especially against neighboring China and Pakistan. All three are nuclear-armed.

“The country today achieved a significant milestone in missile defense system,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement. “It acquired the capability for air defense against incoming ballistic missile threats at 10:25 this morning.”

According to the ministry, the first missile, a modified Prithvi II simulating the “adversary’s missile,” was launched from the Chandipore test range, about 250 km north of Bhubaneswar, capital of India’s Orissa state.

The interceptor, also a Prithvi, was fired one minute later from the Wheeler’s Island missile testing center. The island is in the Bay of Bengal, about 170 km north of Bhubaneswar.

In July, India reported a successful test firing of the longer-range Agni II nuclear missile for a full day before acknowledging the test failed, with the missile plunging into the sea short of its target.

But this time Defense Minister A.K. Antony was quick to convey “his heartiest congratulations” to the development team, the statement said. The test caught observers by surprise, particularly the use of the Prithvi, which until now had been used only as surface-to-surface missile.

A successful missile kill would represent a major advance for India, analysts said. “The technology is hard and you have to be working for years,” said Robin Hughes, the deputy editor of Janes Defense Weekly. “If they have done that in the first test, it is an exceptional advance in technology.”

However, the true capabilities could only be known once India revealed further details about the system, he said.

Most of the technology was home grown and was “validated through this successful mission,” the Defense Ministry statement said.

The nuclear-capable Prithvi II can carry a conventional payload of up to 500 kilograms and has a range of 250 km. The move to modify it comes after the repeated failure of India’s Trishul anti-missile project.

Yesterday’s test also represented a victory for India’s domestic missile program. “This has great political significance for the DRDO (Defense Research and Development Organization) since the recent avalanche of failures, so this success is important for them,” said Gen. Ashok Mehta, a retired officer and military commentator.

However, he noted that it was only the first step in a process that would require at least 30 successful tests before the system could be brought online.

India has also been in talks with the Israel, the United States and Russia to buy a proven anti-missile defense system, and the Press Trust of India news agency quoted an unnamed defense officials as saying India would still pursue such options.

— Additional input from agencies