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The indigenous Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor
missile was fired from Wheeler Island off the
coast near Dhamra in Bhadrak district, about 170
km from here Nov 23.
The interceptor was fired a few minutes after
the target missile was fired from the Integrated
Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea in Balasore district,
about 70 km from Wheeler Island.
The interceptor missile successfully destroyed
the target missile at an altitude of 15 km. The
interception took place at 12.52 pm, Defence Research
and Development Organisation (DRDO) spokesperson
Ravi Kumar Gupta told IANS.
Long range radar and multifunction fire control
radar located far away could detect the missile
from take-off and track it through its entire
path.
The total trajectory of the incoming missile
was continuously estimated by the guidance computer
and subsequently the AAD missile was launched
at an appropriate time to counter and kill the
ballistic missile.
"The mission was highly successful,"
Gupta said, adding that during the exercise a
situation was also created to handle multiple
targets.
He said that apart from the actual interceptor
and the target, an electronically simulated attacker
was created which destroyed an electronically
simulated target.
The electronic target with a range of 1,500 km
was launched and the radars picked up the target
missile, tracked the target missile subsequently
and launched an electronic interceptor missile.
This electronic interceptor missile destroyed
the electronic target missile at an altitude of
120 km.
All the missiles -- the physical and the electronically
simulated -- were tracked by the radars and all
the guidance and launch computers operated in
full operational mode for handling multiple targets
with multiple interceptor.
All the missiles were in the sky simultaneously
and both the interceptions took place near simultaneously.
This has proved the capability of DRDO to handle
multiple targets with multiple interceptors simultaneously,
he pointed out. DRDO scientists have been working
on short and mediun range interceptors, or anti
ballistic missiles, for some time and there have
been demonstration tests in the past also. It
should however take a couple of years at least
to operationally develop and deploy the first
layers of a missile shield.
The complete radar systems, communication networks,
launch computers, target update systems and state
of the art avionics have been completely proven
in this mission.
(IANS)
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