President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday congratulated the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for successfully test-firing a medium-range ballistic missile, developed jointly with Israel."I extend hearty congratulations to all those associated with the successful test-firing of the Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM), developed jointly with Israel," Mukherjee said in a message to Dr. S. Christopher, Secretary, Department of Defence Research & Development and Director General, DRDO.On Thursday, India test-fired twice a medium-range surface-to-air ballistic missile, off the coast of Odisha."
The nation is proud of the achievement made by the DRDO and looks upon DRDO to make even greater efforts to boost India's indigenous defence capabilities in technologically challenging areas," he said in a statement issued here.Mukherjee also conveyed his greetings to the members of the team of scientists, engineers, and all others involved in the mission. "Our nation is grateful for their hard work and proud of their achievement". The missile, which has been jointly developed by DRDO and Israel's administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure, has a strike range of 70 km and is designed to defend against any airborne threat, apart from aircraft and helicopters.