India Had Failed Anti-Satellite Test Prior to Successful One - Report

A report from a US expert claims that a little over a month before India announced the successful completion of an anti-satellite (ASAT) test on 27 March, a similar test had failed on 12 February. However, a defence source told Sputnik that no such test was conducted.

New Delhi (Sputnik): Ankit Panda, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, published a report in The Diplomat, quoting a US official, reading that India had conducted an anti-satellite missile test on 12 February which failed some 30 seconds after take-off. 

"The Indian side had notified the United States of its intent to carry out an experimental weapon test in early February, but without confirming that it would be an anti-satellite test. They gave us a vague heads up", a US government source told The Diplomat.

READ MORE: India ASAT Weapon Tests Result of Worsening Arms Control Situation — Moscow

As per the report, the first failed Indian test provided enough information for US military intelligence to conclude that New Delhi was attempting an anti-satellite test using a new kind of direct-ascent kinetic interceptor.

SatTrackCam Leiden, a satellite tracking station located in Leiden in the Netherlands pointed out that the hazard area as mentioned in NOTAM and Area Warning for 12 February is very similar to that of the 27 March anti-satellite test. 

"Microsat-r was in a slightly different orbit on February 12th: a slightly more eccentric, but stable 240 x 300 km orbit. During the successful ASAT test of March 27, Microsat-R was in a slightly more circular 260 x 285 km orbit", SatTrackCam Leiden blog claimed.

READ MORE: Analysts Fear Tensions in Space After India Tests Anti-Satellite Missile

Meanwhile, a source in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) categorically denied the report, saying, "There was no ASAT test done on 12 February".

The defence source, however, confirmed that on 12 February, the DRDO had flight tested a high-speed interceptor missile from a defence facility off Odisha's coast that went as per the plan and hit an electronic target.