Stories
India's 'Weapon' Caused Panic in America: Devastation in First Attack, Phones Rang Off the Hook.
- •India's 'Mission Shakti' in March 2019, an anti-satellite missile test, caused widespread panic in America's intelligence offices.
- •Former US intelligence official David Grusch revealed that US agencies had no prior intelligence about India's sudden military power display in space.
- •Grusch described chaos as secure phones rang off the hook, with officials frantically calling the US Embassy in New Delhi to understand the situation.
- •On March 27, 2019, India successfully tested an Anti-Satellite Missile (A-SAT), becoming the fourth nation with the capability to shoot down enemy satellites.
- •The US feared debris from the destroyed satellite could impact their own space assets, but India's low-altitude test ensured debris burned up quickly.
Key Questions Answered
Executed on March 27, 2019, Mission Shakti involved India successfully testing an Anti-Satellite Missile (A-SAT) launched from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha, which destroyed a live satellite in low Earth orbit with pinpoint accuracy.
American intelligence agencies had no prior input about the test, leading to widespread chaos and confusion in Washington as secure phones rang simultaneously. Additionally, the Pentagon feared that space debris could collide with commercial and military assets or the International Space Station.
Before India successfully executed its kinetic intercept test to join this elite club in March 2019, only three countries in the world possessed the capability to shoot down enemy satellites in space: the US, Russia, and China.
