India conducted the first successful flight test of the Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) interceptor missile capable of neutralising long-range missiles and aircraft, from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast on Wednesday.
“The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted a successful maiden flight test of phase-II Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) interceptor AD-1 missile with a large kill altitude bracket from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha on November 2.
The flight test was carried out with the participation of all BMD weapon system elements located at different geographical locations,” said the Ministry of Defence in a press statement.
The system, which is capable of striking down incoming adversary missiles and aircraft, has been developed under the Ballistic Missile Defence programme.
The AD-1 (Air Defence) is a long-range interceptor missile designed for both low exo-atmospheric and endo-atmospheric interception of long-range ballistic missiles as well as aircraft. The missile is propelled by a two-stage solid motor and equipped with an indigenously developed advanced control system and a navigation and guidance algorithm to precisely guide the vehicle to the targets that move at very high speeds.
#DRDOUpdates | DRDO conducts successful maiden flight-test of Phase-II Ballistic Missile Defence interceptor off Odisha coast@PMOIndia @DefenceMinIndia @SpokespersonMoD https://t.co/R8ZYoCyMZ8 pic.twitter.com/hHYOvYNinz
— DRDO (@DRDO_India) November 2, 2022
During the flight-test, all the subsystems performed as per expectations and were validated by the data captured by a number of range sensors including radar, telemetry and electro-optical tracking stations deployed to capture the flight data. DRDO scientists said the fully functional ballistic missile defence system contained high-power radars and could potentially protect large areas from the adversary missile or other air attacks.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO and other teams associated with the trial of the AD-1. He termed it as a unique type of interceptor with advanced technologies available to only very few nations in the world. He exuded confidence that it will further strengthen the country’s BMD capability to the next level.
DRDO chairman Dr Samir V Kamat congratulated his team on the successful trial, stating that the interceptor would provide great operational flexibility and have the capability to engage many different types of targets.
