Milestone of India - Interceptor missile test at Balasore. (Orissa - Tamilnadu.)

HYDERABAD: In a bid to establish the reliability of India's fledgling Ballistic Missile Defence shield, an interceptor missile test will take place at Balasore, Orissa, on July 26.

Missile scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will launch an Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile from the Wheeler Island to destroy an incoming missile, a modified Prithvi, at an altitude of 15-18 km in the endo-atmosphere (up to an altitude of 30 km).

India's two-tier shield envisages interception of enemy missiles in the exo (at altitudes between 50 and 80 km) and endo-atmospheres.

In a war scenario, the AAD will be launched for endo-atmospheric interception in case the enemy missile eludes the interceptor during an exo-atmospheric hit.

In the upcoming event, the single stage, solid-propelled AAD will be launched a few minutes after the target missile takes off from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, 65 km from the testing facility on the Wheeler Island.

Hurtling at the supersonic speed of more than 4 Mach and equipped with a directional warhead, the AAD will seek to intercept the incoming ‘hostile' missile during its terminal flight and smash it to smithereens.

Radars to track launch

As the Prithvi takes off, ground-based radars will capture the launch, track the vehicle and pass on the information to the launch control computer.

Based on the computations of the interceptor's guidance and launch computers, the missile will be launched to waylay the incoming projectile.

Since November 27, 2006, the DRDO has successfully conducted three missile intercept tests, two in the exo-atmosphere at altitudes of 48 and 80 km and one in the endo-atmosphere at a height of 15 km.