India to testfire upgraded missile defence system in Feb

NEW DELHI: After carrying out major upgrades, India will testfire an advanced version of its indigenous Ballistic Missile Defence system in February allowing it to destroy enemy rockets at a much higher altitude.

As part of its efforts to protect itself from enemy missiles, India is developing a two-tier BMD which can intercept enemy missiles at exo-atmospheric (outside the Earth's atmosphere) altitudes of 80 km and endo-atmospheric (inside the Earth's atmosphere) heights of 30 km.

Under the improved system, the DRDO-developed missile shield will intercept missiles at exo-atmospheric altitudes of 150 km and endo-atmospheric height of 80 km, DRDO sources told PTI here.

The system is being upgraded after DRDO felt that a capability to intercept enemy projectiles at higher altitudes would give it more response time in case the first attempt is a miss and the second layer of the system can be put into action, they added.

Sources said with India facing a theatre-based threat and not a global one from an Inter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), such a capability would also give it an advantage in terms of the area covered by the missile defence system.

The system was first test-fired in November 2006 elevating India into the elite club of four countries to have successfully developed an Anti-ballistic missile system, after United States, Russia and Israel.

Last year, DRDO conducted the fourth in a row successful test of the endo-atmospheric interceptor missile at an altitude of 15 kms.

Sources said if the tests prove successful, the DRDO will go ahead with the deployment of the BMD by 2015.