India Claims Successful Test Of Anti-Satellite Weapon

India says it shot down one of its own satellites, making it only the fourth country to test an anti-satellite weapon.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the successful test on Wednesday in a rare national address and on social media. The test would "have a historic impact on generations to come," Modi said in a tweet.

The announcement comes just weeks before national elections in which Modi's party has tried to paint itself as being hawkish on national security.

A statement from the ministry of foreign affairs said the test was conducted by India's Defence Research and Development Organization. In it, a low-orbiting Indian satellite was struck by a ballistic missile interceptor fired from a test site on an island in the Bay of Bengal.

India has been looking at conducting an anti-satellite test since 2007, when China destroyed an orbiting satellite, according to Brian Weeden, the director of program planning for the Secure World Foundation, a nonprofit that tracks space weapons.

"From an Indian perspective, they are in a competition with China for regional power, influence and prestige," he says. China has continued its anti-satellite program since 2007, and India has been worried about getting left behind, Weeden says.