India successfully test-fires interceptor missile

Balasore (Orissa), July 26 (PTI) India Monday
successfully test-fired its indigenously developed interceptor
missile, capable of destroying any in-coming hostile ballistic
missile, from the Integrated Test Range at Wheeler Island off
Orissa coast.
Aimed at developing a full-fledged multi-layer
Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system, the trial was carried
out from two launch sites of ITR off the Orissa coast in
eastern India, defence sources said.
The whole exercise is to achieve the desired result
with precision, said a senior defence scientist.
The target missile, a modified surface-to-surface
'Prithvi' was first lifted off from a mobile launcher at 10:05
am from the launch complex-3 of ITR at Chandipur-on-sea, 15
km from here.
The interceptor "AAD" missile, positioned at Wheeler
Island, about 70 km across sea from Chandipur getting signals
from radars tracked it a few minutes later and than
intercepted at a definite altitude in the mid-air over the
sea, the sources said.
While the test launch of both target and hit missiles
were deemed success from their respective test sites, detailed
results, specifically the 'kill' effects of the interceptor
will be known after all data analysis from multiple tracking
sources, a defence official said soon after both the missiles
roared into the overcast sky leaving behind a thin layer of
smoke. MORE PTI