The airspace over Andaman and Nicobar islands has been closed for today and tomorrow for three hours each to likely conduct an inter-island missile test. As part of a Notice to Airmen or NOTAM, no aircraft will be allowed over the Bay of Bengal and Andaman sea surrounding the islands at any altitude.
"Airspace over and around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands with maximum corridor length of around 500 km will be restricted between 01:30 and 04:30 Universal Time Coordinated UTC (7 am and 10 am IST) on May 23 and 24," excerpts of the NOTAM said.
In the context of airspace closure, an official told PTI, "We have successfully done a high-altitude weapon test today and tomorrow a similar test will be done. This is a routine practice here in Andaman and Nicobar Islands as we have done similar tests in the past also." The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), is the only tri-services command in India.
The possible land attack missile test will come at a time peace prevails at the India-Pakistan border, but the government continues to assert that Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 with strikes on terror targets in the neighbouring countries, is on.
The last major test in the region was the test firing of the made-in-India BrahMos supersonic missile in January. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had recently credited the missile's role in India's air defence against Pakistan.
Also part of India's air defence systems during tensions with Pakistan was the indigenously-developed Akashteer air defence control, an unseen wall that stopped a barrage of missiles and drones on the night of May 9 and 10, when Pakistan launched its deadliest attack on Indian military and civilian areas, per the defence ministry.
Under Operation Sindoor, India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure early on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Following the Indian action, Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10. The Pakistani attempts were strongly responded to by the Indian side by inflicting heavy damages to a number of key Pakistani military installations including air bases, air defence systems, command and control centres and radar sites.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on May 10 announced that India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea, with immediate effect.
