Article Posted on : - Mar 15, 2010

A File Photo of an Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile. A DRDO Photo.

BALASORE, ORISSA (PTI): After being put off by a day, the test-fire of India's indigenously built Advanced Air Defence (ADD) interceptor missile, capable of destroying hostile in-coming ballistic missiles, is likely to be held at Integrated Test Range Island off the Orissa coast on Monday.

The trial, earlier scheduled for Sunday at the Wheeler Island was postponed due to some technical snag in the sub-system, official sources said.

After sorting out the problem and thorough examination of all systems, it was decided to make the test on Monday as part of efforts to develop a full fledged multi-layer Ballistic Missile Defence System, defence sources said.

As planned earlier, the test-fire is proposed to be carried out from two different launch sites of ITR, they said.

The target missile, a modified indigenously built Prithvi would first lift off from a mobile launcher from the ITR's launch complex at Chandipur-on-sea, 15 km from here.

Minutes later the interceptor missile would blast off from the Wheeler's Island, about 70 km across the sea from Chandipur, to intercept it at an altitude of 15 to 20 km in mid-air over the waters.

Yet to get a formal name, the new hypersonic interceptor missile is only called 'AAD' and is meant to be used in 'endo-atmospheric conditions'.

The missile is capable of destroying any hostile ballistic missile at low altitude situation. The missile would destroy the target in mid air over Bay of Bengal, the sources said.

The seven-meter-long ADD interceptor is a single stage solid rocket-propelled guided missile, equipped with an inertial navigation system, a hi-tech computer and an electro-mechanical activator totally under command by the data up linked from the sophisticated ground based radars to the interceptor.

The interceptor missile has its own mobile launcher, secure data link for interception, independent tracking and homing capabilities and its own radars.

Balasore district administration have made arrangements to temporarily evacuate about 600 families from five hamlets residing within 2 km radius of launch pad-3 of the ITR at Chandipur to nearby shelter camps as a security measure, the sources added.