The government has closed the sky over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for three hours on May 23 and 24. This means no planes will be allowed to fly over the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea near the islands during these times. This is to make sure everyone stays safe while missile tests are happening.

According to a notice called a NOTAM, the airspace over a long stretch of around 500 kilometers near the islands will be closed from 7 am to 10 am Indian Standard Time on both days. This is the same as 1:30 am to 4:30 am Universal Time Coordinated (UTC).

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 the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, as we have also done similar tests in the past also." The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) is India's only military command that has all three forces, the Army, Navy, and Air Force, working together.

These missile tests happen at a time when peace is holding at the border between India and Pakistan. But the Indian government says that Operation Sindoor is still going on. Operation Sindoor started on May 7 and involved strikes on terror groups across the border.

The last big missile test in the area was in January, when India tested the BrahMos, a fast supersonic missile made in India. The Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, recently said that BrahMos played an important role in protecting India’s airspace during tensions with Pakistan.

India also used its own air defence system called Akashteer to stop many missile and drone attacks by Pakistan on May 9 and 10, which were some of the deadliest attacks.

Operation Sindoor was started by India to attack terror targets after a terror attack happened in Pahalgam on April 22. After this, Pakistan tried to attack Indian military bases several times in early May. India responded strongly and damaged many key military sites in Pakistan.

On May 10, both countries agreed to stop firing and military actions on land, air, and sea immediately, according to India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

You might also be interested in - India set to urge FATF to return Pakistan to grey list: Report