India on Monday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed interceptor missile, capable of destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile, from the Integrated Test Range at Wheeler Island off Orissa coast.
Aimed at developing a full-fledged multi-layer Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system, the trial was carried out from two launch sites of ITR off the Orissa coast, defence sources said. The whole exercise is to achieve the desired result with precision, said a senior defence scientist. The target missile, a modified surface-to-surface "Prithvi" was first lifted off from a mobile launcher at 10.05 am from the launch complex-3 of ITR at Chandipur-on-sea, 15 km from here. The interceptor "AAD" missile, positioned at Wheeler Island, about 70 km across sea from Chandipur getting signals from radars, tracked it a few minutes later and than intercepted at a definite altitude in the mid-air over the sea, the sources said. While the test launch of both target and hit missiles were considered success from their respective test sites, detailed results, specifically the "kill" effects of the interceptor will be known after all data analysis from multiple tracking sources, a defence official said soon after both the missiles roared into the overcast sky leaving behind a thin layer of smoke.