Anti-satellite missile system to be showcased at Indian Republic Day parade.

On 26th January in New Delhi, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will showcase its achievement of how it empowered India in 2019 by carrying out country's first anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test -- Mission Shakti in the 71st Republic Day Parade. The anti-satellite test was carried out on March 27, 2019.

The ASAT test utilized a modified anti-ballistic missile interceptor code-named Prithvi Defence Vehicle Mark-II (Picture source: Indian MoD)

In 2012, the DRDO announced that India had developed capabilities to launch anti-satellite weapons. While several nations, including Israel, have the missile range to militarise space, only three nations -- the U.S., Russia and China -- had hitherto tested ASAT systems by knocking down a satellite.

On 27 March 2019, India tested an anti-satellite weapon during an operation code-named Mission Shakti ("Power"). The target of the test was a satellite present in a low Earth orbit, which was hit with a kinetic kill vehicle. The ASAT test utilized a modified anti-ballistic missile interceptor code-named Prithvi Defence Vehicle Mark-II which was developed under Project XSV-1. The test made India the fourth country after the US, Russia and China to have tested an ASAT weapon. The test sparked concerns regarding the creation of space debris. The Indian government tried to address these concerns by saying that the debris generated from the test would not last for a long duration. India’s successful demonstration of the ASAT capability is said to signify its ability to intercept an intercontinental ballistic missile. The ASAT weapon is meant to act as a deterrent.