India successfully tested interceptor missile system

NI Wire

Bhubaneswar

Thu, 06 Dec 2007: 

Dec 06:  India scripted its name to become one of the few countries to have indigenously build interceptor missile called Advance Air Defense (AAD) on Thursday at Inner Wheeler island nr the coast of Orissa.

This missile has a capacity to destroy incoming hostile ballistic missiles, was test fired from the Integrated Test Range of Orissa.

As a part of AAD exercise, a Prithvi missile was modified to mimic a hostile ballistic missile and was fired from Integrated Test Range from Chandipur in Orissa Coast while AAD was fired from Inner Wheeler island which could successfully intercepted the incoming target and destroyed it over Bay of Bengal.

This missile was specially designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisations (DRDO).

The ITR sources briefed that AAD is a bit advanced than USPAC-3 (Patriot advanced Capability) in interception, altitude and range against incoming ballistic missile.

Earlier on Sunday the scientist conducted a dummy test of the interceptor missile using an electronic device fired from ITR.

The scientist also made clear that this is not an improved version of a missile but is very new.

This is another step to develop India’s own multi layer Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system; the launches were described as “test book flights” according to the defense sources. The kill effect of the missile can be known only after going through the details of data received by multiple sources.

''All the elements of BMD required for control and monitoring performed in a copybook fashion validating the design of the 'endo-atmospheric' layer of BMD system,'' the sources added.

This exercise being the second on the string has added another triumph to DRDO’s list of achievement.