In what may be seen as a big boost for India’s missile defence system, the South Asian country has decided to develop capability to intercept enemy missiles fired from a distance of up to 5,000km.
In the Indian capital, a senior Defence Ministry official told reporters that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is currently developing the capability as part of its Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) shield.
Meanwhile, DRDO chief Avinash Chander said that they would soon implement the first phase of the project in New Delhi. It means that the Indian capital will soon get a missile shield.
According to Chander, as the DRDO has completed first phase of the BMD programme, the BMD shield can protect the capital city from enemy missiles fired from a distance of up to 2,000km. He told reporters that DRDO scientists would enhance the capability of BMD in the second phase.
Chander stressed: “We are planning to soon carry out the first trial of the second phase of the programme under which we will test our capability to destroy an incoming ballistic missile fired at us from 5,000km range. Such a capability meets our immediate threat perception.”
The DRDO chief, meanwhile, revealed that scientists would use missile shield components, such as radar and interceptor missiles, with extended ranges in the second phase of the programme.
“The second phase missiles would be totally different from the first phase. In this programme, you need to travel more and intercept further away,” added Chander.
Without divulging details of the programme, the senior DRDO official said that New Delhi would be the first city to be protected by the shield because the capital is the heart of the country.”
Earlier this month, the Defence Ministry announced that the Indian Air Force (IAF) would get BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles by end of the year. A Sivathanui Pillai, the CEO and Managing Director of BrahMos Aerospace, said: “Two Su-30MKI aircraft will be equipped with the missiles that will enable them to hit targets on the ground accurately.”
According to Pillai, the Army has already acquired BrahMos to become the only Army in the world to possess a supersonic cruise missile. Although the DRDO has decided to develop hypersonic cruise “Mach 7″ missiles in the next five years, the IAF would acquire BrahMos in the next few months.
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