The Russian Aerospace Forces has successfully launched an upgraded anti-ballistic missile at the Sary-Shagan test site in Kazakhstan, the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday.

After a series of tests, the new anti-ballistic missile system successfully hit a conventional target with precision, Missile Defense Task Force Commander Sergei Grabchuk said in a ministry press release.

The missile defense system is designed to protect Moscow from aerospace attacks, and perform early warning and space monitoring tasks, according to the ministry.