In a surprise, unscheduled national address on Wednesday, March 27, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the country had successfully carried out its first-ever anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon test.
The test, codenamed “Mission Shakti,” took three minutes and destroyed a target satellite at an altitude of 300 kilometers, in low-Earth orbit (LEO), Modi said. He applauded India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) for realizing the capability.
Modi underscored that with the test, India was among four countries with a demonstrated anti-satellite capability. The other three countries are the United States, China, and Russia.
