A man watches Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation on a local news channel in New Delhi on March 27, 2019. India on March 27 destroyed a low-orbiting satellite in a missile test that puts the country in the space 'super league', Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

WASHINGTON — India joined an exclusive group of world powers with military space capabilities on Wednesday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a successful anti-satellite missile test.

Space is seen as a key military domain by the world's superpowers. While anti-satellite missiles are by no means new, only a few countries have been able to develop, test and prove the capability. Satellites make up the backbone of GPS, communications, intelligence and more — making the ability to destroy spacecraft a coveted military strength.

India's test, dubbed "Mission Shakti," was carried out by the Defense Research and Development Organization, or DRDO. the research and development arm of the country's military. Still, while simultaneously touting the military strength the test demonstrates, India declared that it is "against the weaponization of outer space," Shambhu Hakki, a spokesperson for the Indian Embassy in Washington, wrote in an email.

"India has no intention of entering into an arms race in outer space. We have always maintained that space must be used only for peaceful purposes," Hakki said.

The latest revelations from India, however, come as the United States, China and Russia sprint to equip their arsenals with anti-satellite missiles.

In October, CNBC learned that a never-before-seen missile photographed on a Russian MiG-31 interceptor is believed to be a mock-up of an anti-satellite weapon that will be ready for warfare by 2022.

The Russian anti-satellite weapon, which is attached to a space launch vehicle, is expected to target communication and imagery satellites in low Earth orbit, according to one source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. For reference, the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope travel in low Earth orbit.

Images of the mysterious missile on a modified Russian MiG-31, a supersonic near-space interceptor, appeared in mid-September.