India took one more step towards establishing a ballistic missile defence shield when it successfully intercepted on Monday an “enemy” ballistic missile at an altitude of 15 km and pulverised it. While the “enemy” that is, the target missile lifted off from the launch pad P-3 at the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, near Balasore, Orissa, the interceptor took off from the Wheeler Island, off Damra village on the Orissa coast, waylaid the target missile by scoring a direct hit. The interception took place at 10.05 a.m. in what is called the endo-atmosphere, that is, below an altitude of 50 km. Both the target and the interceptor missiles were developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The proposed twin-layered BMD system envisages interception and destruction of incoming enemy missiles in exo-atmosphere (higher altitude of 50-80 km) and endo-atmosphere (lower altitude up to 30 km). While the first phase seeks to protect vital assets against enemy ballistic missiles of up to 2,000 km range, the second phase is intended to defend against missiles of up to 5,000 km range.
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