New Delhi: India on Tuesday successfully test-fired the most advanced long-range nuclear capable ballistic missile ‘Barak-8,’ developed jointly with Israel.

Launched at 10.13am, from a mobile launcher at the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur, in the Balasore district of Odisha, the missile swung into action after getting a signal from radars to intercept a moving aerial target supported by an unmanned aircraft ‘Banshee’ over the Bay of Bengal.

“The 4.5-metre missile weighs around three tonnes and can carry a payload of 70 kilograms. The system also includes a multifunctional surveillance and threat alert radar for detection, tracking and guidance of the missile,” the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said in a release.

Barak-8 was earlier successfully test-fired twice on June 30 and once on July 1.

The advanced missile is jointly designed and developed by DRDO and the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Israel’s Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure.

The missile has the ability to hit targets within 70km to 90km radius.

It is designed to defend against any airborne threat, apart from aircraft and helicopters, and can also intercept supersonic aircraft and missiles.

DRDO sources informed Gulf News that the organisation was planning some more rounds of tests shortly.

As a safety measure, the Balasore district administration, in consultation with defence officials, had temporarily shifted 3,652 people residing within a 2.5km radius of launch pad No. 3 of the ITR at Chandipur to nearby temporary shelters on Tuesday morning.

Fishermen engaged in fishing along the Bay of Bengal in three coastal districts of Balasore, Bhadrak and Kendrapada were asked not to venture into the sea during the time of the test launch.

The Indian navy had also successfully test launched the long-range surface to air missile (LR-SAM). The test was undertaken on the Western Seaboard by INS Kolkata on December 30, 2015.

These missiles would be inducted in all the three services after trials were completed.