India successfully test fires new interceptor missile Sunday April 27,2014

India on Sunday April 27,2014 claimed to have achieved a major milestone when a newly-developed interceptor missile detected and destroyed an incoming ballistic missile at an altitude over 120km off the Orissa coast. 

The successful trial meant that India’s ambitious two-layer Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) programme, which has been a work in progress for long, is closer to realisation.

The new ‘exoatmospheric kill vehicle’ or PDV interceptor was developed to tackle hostile ballistic missiles travelling at supersonic speeds at higher altitude, to ensure minimum fallout on the ground.

India’s earlier attempts at destroying an incoming missile were restricted to engagements at up to 80km. 

The PAD interceptor missile was used for exoatmospheric trials earlier.

The target missile was launched from a ship in the Bay of Bengal and destroyed by the interceptor fired from Wheeler Island.

The target missile followed the same trajectory as a ballistic missile launched from 2,000 kilometres away.

The “hostile” target was detected by a radar-based system that tracked its course while a PDV interceptor was prepared to destroy it. 

The interceptor was guided by a high accuracy inertial navigation system supported by a redundant micro navigation system as it moved towards the estimated point of interception.

The heat shield ejected and the infrared seeker dome opened to look at the target location once the missile crossed the atmosphere. 

The events were monitored in real-time by telemetry stations at several locations. DRDO’s top bosses, including chief Avinash Chander, kept a watch on the crucial mission.

The trial was crucial for the two-layer defence system that is being prepared as it has to be capable of destroying a ballistic missile with a 2,000km range both inside and outside the earth’s atmosphere