Adding significant capabilities to its defense program, India on Saturday, successfully test fired an interceptor missile. The missile will provided a huge boost to the country’s defense platform, allowing it to come up with systems that can protect it against missile attacks by intercepting and destroying them in mid-air.
Speaking on the topic, a defense official said:
PDV (Prithvi Defence Vehicle) mission is for engaging the targets in the exo-atmosphere region at an altitude above 50 km of earth’s atmosphere. Both, the PDV interceptor and the two-stage target missile, were successfully engaged
The interceptor was launched from Abdul Kalam Island, while the target which made to mimic a ballistic missile in the essentials was launched from a ship that was anchored at Bay of Bengal. In what were pretty real test conditions, the incoming missile was tracked and intercepted using automated operation in which, radar based tracking system detected and tracked the ballistic missile.
India has been attempting to build a anti-ballistic system for long. Such a system would serve to protect the country from ballistic missiles fired upon it — missiles that could be carrying nuclear warheads. Considering that both Pakistan and China are nuclear capable, such a capability was the need of the hour. Thanks to efforts from the DRDO, India’s interceptor missiles are now ready to roll.
Congratulating scientists on this historic achievement, PM Narendra Modi said,
Today our scientists have made a missile that could attack an incoming missile in the sky, only 4-5 countries in the world have done this.
Such missiles are the premise of merely a handful of nations across the world and go a long way towards providing their hosts with strong defensive capabilities.
India’s pre-existing air defense network has two main components – the Air Defense Ground Environment System and the Base Air Defense Zones. These two systems together permit the detection and interception of attacks on targets that are of critical importance to the country. Added to them, the interceptor missiles will be a great asset towards preserving the security of the nation.
