India’s Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) shield got a further fillip with the successful test of an interceptor missile conducted by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) today.
The Advanced Area Defence (AAD) endo-atmospheric missile capable of intercepting incoming target missile at an altitude of 15 to 25 kms range was tested. It was launched from the Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast to stop an incoming enemy missile which was launched from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur.
Defence sources claimed that all the mission objective were realised with the interceptor missile accurately hitting the target missile. Earlier in January the DRDO had tested the exo-atmospheric interceptor missile. It successfully destroyed the target missile outside the Earth’s atmosphere.
These two trials validate several indigenous technologies and the reliability of the two layered Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD), being developed by the DRDO for the past over a decade. The defence shield is made up of the two interceptor missiles, the Prithvi Defence Vehicle (PDV) for outside the Earth’s atmosphere ranges and the AAD missile for within the atmosphere or lower altitudes.
The DRDO expects to have a completely functional BMD in the next 4-5 years. At present, the US, Russia, Israel, France and China are known to have the system in place.