New Defence Milestone: India Test Fires Interceptor Missile Successfully
India successfully tested a home grown interceptor missile that is capable of destroying an incoming ballistic missile, in a demonstration of the country’s Ballistic Missile Shield (BMD) capability. The test was conducted on Saturday (11 February) over the Bay of Bengal.
<b>Today our scientists have made a missile that can destroy an enemy missile high in the sky. Only four to five countries in the world have done this.</b>Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an election rally in Uttar Pradesh.
The two-tier BMD system, a brainchild of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), will be ready for deployment in two years, with the ability to protect a city or a strategic installation. While the DRDO had earlier promised a two-layered missile shield with a range of 2,000 km by 2014, scientists this time are positive about meeting their target.
The interceptor was test-fired at 7.45 am using a Prithvi defence vehicle, with a two-stage target missile (used as a mock ballistic missile) being simultaneously launched from Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha.
India has crossed an important milestone in building its overall capability towards enhanced security against incoming ballistic missile threats. It has entered an exclusive club of four nations (the US, Russia, China and Israel) by developing capabilities to secure its skies and cities against hostile threats.A Defence Ministry spokesperson.
Phase-I of the BMD system uses interceptors flying at high-supersonic speeds of 4.5 Mach to block and take down hostile missiles with a strike range of 2,000-km. Phase-II aims at taking down 5,000-km range missiles, with interceptors operating at hypersonic speeds of 6-7 Mach.