India Shot Down a Satellite, Modi Says, Shifting Balance of Power in Asia

NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Wednesday that India had test-fired a rocket that shot down one of its own satellites, escalating the country’s rivalry with China and Pakistan, and demonstrating a strategic capability in space that few countries possess.

This technological leap, which was confirmed by the Pentagon, puts India in an exclusive club of nations, along with the United States, Russia and China, that have proved their ability to destroy targets in space.

But it has potentially ominous repercussions, accelerating the space race with China and destabilizing the uneasy balance of power between India and Pakistan, which are both armed with nuclear weapons. It could allow India essentially to blind an enemy by taking out its space-based communication and surveillance satellites.

Shooting down a satellite is no easy feat. In this case, scientists estimate that the satellite that India blasted apart was moving around the Earth at 17,000 miles per hour.

Mr. Modi made the announcement to a rapt nation just weeks before the country heads into a hotly contested election.

“India stands tall as a space power!” Mr. Modi tweeted after his announcement. He added that the entire effort had been “indigenous,” accomplished entirely by Indians.