India test-fires its maiden long-range hypersonic missile

NEW DELHI

India on Sunday announced the successful flight test of its first long-range hypersonic missile.

The test was conducted late Saturday night off the coast of Odisha in eastern India, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

“This hypersonic missile is designed to carry various payloads for ranges greater than 1,500 kilometres (932 miles) for the Armed Forces,” it said.

According to the ministry, the missile was tracked by various range systems deployed in multiple domains, and flight data confirmed "the successful terminal manoeuvres and impact with a high degree of accuracy."

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh described the flight trial as a “historic achievement.”

“It has put India in the group of select nations having capabilities of such critical and advanced military technologies,” he said.

This is India's second major test this week, following the maiden flight of the Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile on Tuesday.