India joins elite club with successful ballistic missile defence tests

India successfully conducted three flight-tests of its multi-layered Ballistic Missile Defence system, demonstrating the capability to intercept ballistic missiles, including intercontinental-range threats. The achievement places India among a select group of nations possessing advanced BMD capabilities

New Delhi: India has successfully carried out flight-tests of key platforms this week to demonstrate its multi-layered Ballistic Missile Defence system’s power to intercept intercontinental missiles, joining an elite group of nations with this capability.

The BMDs are capable of intercepting incoming long-range nuclear missiles and hostile aircraft including AWACS (airborne warning and control systems). A very few countries including the US, Russia and China are known to have Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) capabilities.

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Three consecutive flight-tests were conducted on June 10 and 11 to demonstrate multi-layered BMD against incoming missiles, according to the defence ministry.

The tests were conducted to check the capability to take down incoming ballistic missiles, both inside and outside the Earth’s atmospheric limits.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully demonstrated multiple crucial technologies bolstering the nation’s defence capabilities against different types of enemy threats, the ministry said on Saturday.

It said multi-layered BMD capability was successfully demonstrated through these flight-tests. “The interceptors successfully engaged their respective targets. The systems are designed and developed with the latest technologies to address emerging missile threats,” it said.

“These tests have put the country in the elite group of nations having BMD capability to engage up to intercontinental ballistic missiles,” the ministry said.

It also said the maiden flight-test of the Naval Anti-Ship Missile-Medium Range (NASM-MR) was carried out successfully. Under the BMD programme, India has been developing the capability to intercept hostile missiles at both endo-atmospheric and exo-atmospheric levels.

The endo-atmospheric missiles are the ones that operate within the earth’s atmosphere that covers an altitude below 100 km. The exo-atmospheric missiles are capable of completing missions in the upper-most region of the earth’s atmosphere.

The latest flight-tests were witnessed by senior officials of DRDO and defence forces. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO on successfully demonstrating these crucial technologies.

“Multi-layered BMD capability was successfully demonstrated. The interceptors successfully engaged their respective targets. The systems are designed and developed with the latest technologies to address emerging missile threats,” he said.

Singh said these tests have put India in the “elite group” of nations having BMD capabilities to engage missiles including ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles).

“Congratulations to DRDO on successfully demonstrating these crucial technologies,” he posted on social media.