Interceptor achieves a direct hit of incoming target missile

Validating Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) capability, India successfully launched an interceptor missile to destroy an incoming target missile in a direct hit at an altitude of 15 km over the Bay of Bengal on Friday.

The target missile mimicked an incoming enemy missile with a range of more than 2,000 km.

A few minutes after the ‘hostile’ missile, a modified surface-to-surface Prithvi, took off at 10.10 a.m. from Launch Complex-3 at Chandipur, the interceptor missile, Advanced Air Defence (AAD), was fired from the Wheeler Island. As the target missile climbed to a height about 100 km and began descending at rapid speed, the interceptor travelling at supersonic speed homed on to the target and smashed it to smithereens around 10.15 a.m. at a 15-km altitude in the endo-atmosphere.

The crucial test was conducted as part of India’s plans to deploy a two-tiered BMD system to engage and kill incoming enemy missiles in the endo-atmosphere and exo-atmopshere.

This was the seventh interceptor mission and the fifth endo-atmospheric interception. Six of the tests to date have been successful, including the first three in a row.

Immediately after the modified Prithvi was launched, the Long Range Tracking Radars near Puri picked up the target missile as also the Multi Functional Radar at Paradip tracked the missile and passed on the information to guidance computer, which gave the command for launching of AAD after computing the target’s flight. Equipped with inertial navigation system, a hi-tech computer and a radio-frequency seeker the AAD locked on to the target missile and blasted it in the terminal phase.

Scientific advisor to Defence Minister V.K. Saraswat, Defence Research and Development Organisation's (DRDO) Chief Controller for missiles and strategic systems, Avinash Chander and other top missile scientists were present.

Source:The Hindu

Interceptor missile test on February 10

India's missile scientists are gearing to conduct an interceptor missile test on February 10 as part of the plans to deploy a two-layered Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system.

This will be the seventh interceptor mission. The exercise is meant to test the capability of the system to kill incoming ballistic missiles with a range of 2,000-3,000 km. Of the six exercises held to date — the first was in November 2006 — five have been successful.

The proposed operation would be closer to the deployable configuration of the system for endo-atmospheric interception, according to Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) officials. During the upcoming mission, the interception of the target missile is planned at an altitude of 15 km in the endo-atmosphere. Four of the interceptor missile tests conducted so far have been in the endo-atmosphere, two in the exo-atmosphere.

Soon after the modified surface-to-surface target missile, Prithvi, is launched from Chandipur, an Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile will take off from Wheeler Island to intercept and destroy the incoming projectile, which, after reaching a height of 100 km, will start descending.

Upon Prithvi's launch, the Long-Range Tracking Radars near Puri will start tracking the target. A little later, the Multi Functional Radars located near seaport town Paradip will detect and track the missile and provide data for the guidance computer. This will compute the flight path of the target missile and launch the interceptor at the right time. The interceptor computes the optimal path for the missile to hit the target. In the terminal phase, the radiofrequency seeker will track the target and enable the interceptor to home in on to the target.

Source:The Hindu