"A combined team of the Space Forces, the Sary Shagan testing site and industry officials fired a short-range interceptor missile at a target missile," Lieutenant Colonel Alexei Zolotukhin, the spokesman said. He said the launch had been conducted to assess the possibility of extending the service life of interceptor missiles that are currently on combat duty around Moscow.

According to some reports, at least 68 short-range, A-135 interceptors (NATO codename: Gazelle) are currently deployed as part of the Moscow missile defence system to protect radars and other strategic infrastructure.

The A-135 missile, with an effective range of up to 80 kilometers (about 50 miles) is similar in design and mission profile to the Sprint missile of the US Safeguard system.

The Sary Shagan testing site, located on the west bank of Lake Balkash, has been operational since October 1958. In recent years it has experienced a spate of testing by the Russian Strategic Missile Forces, which have tested six anti-missile systems, 12 air defence systems, seven types of missile interceptors, 12 types of ground-to-air missiles and 18 radars at the site.