India successfully tests anti-missile capability

In a major breakthrough, the country's defence scientists today successfully carried out a surface to surface missile (SSM) interception over the Bay of Bengal brightening the prospects of development of an indigenous anti-missile shield.

A target Prithvi missile was launched from Interim Missile Test Range near here at Chandipur, at 1015 hours, its trajectory continously monitored and then it was successfully intercepted by another missile fired from the Wheeler Islands.

Though, the Navy has successfully conducted missile interceptions over sea using Israeli Barak missiles, this was for the first time defence scientists have successfully carried out interception of a surface to surface missile missile (SSM), which could bring some relief as India actively faces a threat from the presence of nuclear capabile missile in the neighbourhood.

The interceptor missile, which was in anti-missile mode, was not not indentified by the DRDO officials who said "the interceptor missile had inertial guidance mid-course and active-seeker guidance in its terminal phase".

DRDO had for years been working on making Trishul missile into an indigenous anti-missile system trying to incorporate into it the capability of taking on multi-targets at the same time. But the missile had failed many of its critical tests.