India successfully test-fired indigenously developed interceptor missile, capable of destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile on Sunday from Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island off Orissa coast.
“Aimed at developing a fully-fledged multi-layer Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system, the trial was carried out from two launch sites of ITR off Orissa coast,” defence sources said.
Describing the trial as successful, they said the whole exercise is to achieve “desired result with precision”.
The ‘hostile’ target ballistic missile, a modified surface-to-surface ‘Prithvi’, was first lifted off from a mobile launcher around 0933 hours from the launch complex-3 of ITR at Chandipur-on-Sea, 15 km from Balasore.
Within four minutes, the interceptor, Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile positioned at Wheeler Island, about 70 km across sea from Chandipur received signals from long ranging tracking radars installed along the coastlines, and then travelled through the sky at a speed of 4.5 Mach to a definite altitude over the Bay to destroy it, sources said.
“After the launch of ‘target’ and ‘hit’ missiles from their launch sites, detailed results and the ‘kill’ effect of the interceptor were being ascertained by analysing data from multiple tracking sources,” a Defence Research Development (DRDO) scientist said soon after both the missiles roared in to the skies leaving behind a thin white ribbon of smokes.
“While the interceptor designed for endo-atmospheric condition (up to 30 km altitude) is a seven-meter long and single stage solid rocket propelled guided missile, equipped with an inertial navigation system, a hi-tech computer and an electro-mechanical activator under command by the data uplinked from sophisticated ground based radars, the interceptor designed for exo-atmospheric condition is a two stage missile,” sources said.
