New Delhi, December 6
India today took another step forward in developing its own patriot missile system by successfully carrying out the second test of a single stage interceptor missile against an incoming “enemy” ballistic missile target over the Bay of Bengal.
A release issued by the ministry of defence here said, “The endo-atmospheric interceptor impacted with the (incoming) missile at 15 km altitude at high supersonic speed, exactly as designed”.
The Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system, as it is called, was said to be slightly superior to the US PAC--3 (Patriot Advanced Capability) in interception, altitude and range against incoming ballistic missiles, a ministry official said.
Reports said, as a part of an Advanced Air Defence (AAD) exercise, a Prithvi missile modified to “mimic” a hostile ballistic missile was fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea in Orissa, some 230 km from Bhubaneswar.
The new missile was fired from Wheeler Island a little over two minutes later and successfully intercepted the incoming target, destroying it over the Bay of Bengal. The AAD exercise was conducted to validate the BMD system, which the scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have put in place.
All elements of the BMD system such as long range tracking radar, multi-function fire control radar, mission control centre, launch control centre, mobile launcher, mobile and multi layer communication system, and data links to the interceptor participated in the mission, the defence ministry release said.
The release added, “The interceptor and all elements performed in a copybook fashion, validating the design of the endo-atmospheric layer of the BMD system”.
