This places India among an elite group of nations (United States, Russia, China, and Israel) with advanced BMD capabilities including defence against Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs).
- India also carried out Flight-test of the Naval Anti-Ship Missile-Medium Range (NASM-MR) successfully.
About Ballistic Missile Defence Programme
- Definition: A BMD system is an advanced network of radars, command centers, and interceptor missiles designed to detect, track, and destroy incoming ballistic missiles.
- Launch: Initiated in 1999 by DRDO in response to Pakistan nuclear tests and China's assertiveness.
- Two-tier Defence:
- Endo-atmospheric interception: Within Earth's atmosphere.
- Exo-atmospheric interception: Outside Earth's atmosphere.
- Three Phases:
- Phase-I: Includes Prithvi Defence Vehicle (PDV), Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptors to counter short- and medium-range ballistic missiles (Range of 2000 kms).
- Phase-II: Features AD-1 and AD-2 interceptors (Range of 5000 kms).
- AD-1 is a long-range interceptor missile designed for both low exo-atmospheric and endo-atmospheric interception.
- AD-2 missile is meant to intercept intermediate-range ballistic missile (3000-5500 km).
- Phase-III: Developing AD-AH and AD-AM interceptors.
- AD-AH (Anti-Hypersonic): Hypersonic glide vehicle, which travels above Mach 5 and changes trajectory mid-flight to dodge interception.
- AD-AM (Anti-Missile): Missile carrying Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRVs), where a single launch releases several nuclear warheads, each programmed to strike a separate target.
- Key Components: Interceptor missiles, Swordfish radar, Launch Control Centres (LCC), Mission Control Centre (MCC), and secure communication networks.
- Short-Range Ballistic Missile (SRBM): Range below 1,000 km
- Medium-Range Ballistic Missile (MRBM): Range 1,000–3,000 km
- Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM): Range 3,000–5,500 km
- ICBM: Range above 5,500 km
About Ballistic Missiles
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