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Hi-tech defences: India ‘successfully tests’ missile shield
Officials say shield destroyed two incoming missiles.
India is the fifth nation to have these ballistic missile defence capabilities in the world, says government official. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
BHUBANESWAR: India successfully tested on Friday an interceptor defence shield developed to detect and destroy incoming ballistic missiles, a government official said.
Officials from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said an indigenously developed interceptor missile locked on to the targets, two nuclear-capable missiles, and destroyed them in a test in eastern India.
DRDO spokesman Ravi Gupta said radars following the two destroyed missiles detected fragments falling into the Bay of Bengal off the state of Orissa.
“India is the fifth nation to have these ballistic missile defence capabilities in the world,” Gupta said in a statement.
The test was carried out at a missile launch site located 200 kilometres from Orissa state capital of Bhubaneswar.
Pakistan has said New Delhi’s missile programme could trigger a new arms race in the region.
A similar test in 2010 by the DRDO was abandoned when radars following a ‘hostile’ missile lost track of it after it blasted off from the launch site.
The system’s tracking and fire-control radars were developed by the DRDO jointly with Israel and France.
India last month said it would soon test a nuclear-capable missile with a range of over 5,000 kilometres.
India’s current longest-range nuclear-capable missile, Agni-IV, can travel 3,500 kilometres.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 11th, 2012.
Reader Comments (36)
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there will be now some cheap and showy comments on one side and hateful comments from another side. it used to be a better stage for a healthy debate.
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Only If Pakistan had good relations with Israel as well .. But no we would rather bring anarchy to our own country for the sake of so called ummah which can not give us anything but useless slogans and will instead of investing in education, spend their money on luxuries and get caught in decades long wars which they can never win.
Lets not forget just like Palestine, Japan & Germany were also occupied at the same time and there are still foreign forces on their lands .. but they gave books to their coming generations instead of rocks in hands, and we can see the result and their strength now.
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Indians have always been good at making missiles. The mahabharata has detailed accounts of pakshapastra/ missiles 5000 years ago.
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I don’t believe this news.
Missile defense is unlike any other technology. It has to be fool proof, otherwise, it’s a total waste. Even a small percentage of margin for error means, it’s a failure.
I highly doubt this claim. Perhaps it was successful in certain scenarios, I’m sure it requires hundreds of tests and perfecting.
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There will come a time when Pakistani Ballistic Missiles will lose their usage due to India’s Missile shield. Millions and Billions spent on them will go down the drain.
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@Mr. Righty rightist:
relax man, this is just a SMAAAALL step, still there is a loooong way to go, we know it.
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no, its Agni III. according to report, its range lies between 3500 and 5000 km. while Agni IV is the latest one.
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@Mr. Righty rightist:
You are correct – in no way is a ballistic missile shield a foolproof security cover. But what it does is force the enemy to utilize a very large percentage of its arsenal in the hope of achieving some successful strikes, and thus serves as a psychological deterrent as well. Instead of investing in hundreds of nuclear weapons that no one is going to use (even if we needed some against Pakistan, 2-3 would do the job admirably), we should invest in strengthening the missile shield in the Pak and Chinese theatre.
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The word pakshapastra comes from the sanskrit root, “kship”, which means to throw. Astra, means weapon. Hence pakshapastra, a projectle or missile. Missiles and projectle fuels were part of an ancient technology and were known to ancient indians, just like vimanas/aircraft/flying machines. “Chariots of the Gods” by Eric Von Daniken is a bestseller that talks about such things.Recommend
@Righty right: I’m a Pakistan – a proud one; however, I’m compelled to reply you. Ever heard of the term ‘computer simulation’ ?
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Mr. Righty rightist
Even USA doesnt have a 100% foolproof shield system….But having a locked house is slightly safer than keeping it open…..
Also,it is rumored that DRDO is building a laser based anti-missile system similar to Russia,which uses high density laser beams to fry the incoming missile…Whether it is a rumor or a hushed up project is not yet known…
By the way,Pakistan need not worry about this….India no longer looks at them as serious threat and is now more concerned about China …
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Both India and Pakistan would be wise to focus their resources on bettering their people — despite nukes and high tech weapons we are still 3′rd World countries who don’t have basics like clean water and proper sanitation.
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@Cautious:
Yes, true, but how do we neutralize the threats that exist?
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@Cautious: Yes you are right. But when people say that “we will fight till death for Kashmir,they really mean it.” So Indian needs to be careful. It has been attacked 4 times..
And yes, pakistani people need not worry about it bcoz Indians will never attack “first”. We don’t want our trillion dolor economy to be disturbed by war.
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@Blackjack: “we should invest in strengthening the missile shield in the Pak and Chinese theatre”, After 64 years you are still holding daddys hands, be it China, Usa or Russia.
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@Cautious
You’re right…However,when we look at the history…We could see that ancient Indians were prosperous,but never improved their military…
Thats why India was attacked and plundered by rulers from Alexandar,Ghazni,Gouri,Chengiz khan,Mughals and finally British….
A strong defence is needed for every nation…Especially a nation which has hostile nuclear capable countries both at north and west….Practising Non-Violence doesnt mean we can allow us to be abused by everyone
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We can do India a favour and put this missile shield through a real test ;)
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Well good luck to you India. And good luck to us Pakistanis too. We all need it considering how both our countries’ money is being squandered on weapons that wont ever be used.
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@Pakshapastra
The Mahabharata is like the greek’s Iliad, IMO. It may be based on a true historical conflict but this talk of flying machines is too far fetched. Do Hindus consider it a literal truth?
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@BlackJack
Did you see my last response to you in Rumi Raza’s article on urdu myths?
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History is the best teacher. After getting kicked for centuries Jews and Hindus learned of having strong defense. Ashoka the great was a great warier. However, after the the Kalinga war he renounced violence and became Buddhist. “Yatha Raja, Tatha Praja” rule made entire Indian subcontinent Buddhist and and thereby nonviolent. Result was for all to see. India was plundered from all sides. Lesson learned was that nonviolent can take you only that far. Its wrong to say that India has to defend only from China and Pakistan. History tells us that a nation can be attacked even by far away powers like what USA did in Iraq, Britain did in India and so on. India has to be prepared to defend from all sides. .
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ok, then let me t highlight this also :x
Prithvi Air Defence (PAD)
November 2006- success
March 6, 2009- success
March 6, 2011- success
Advanced Air Defence (AAD)
6 December 2007 – success
15 March 2010,- failed
26 July 2010,- success
6 March 2011 – success
10 February 2012 – success
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@Roflcopter:
then be ready for a real festival ;)
@Noise:
not sure 100% truth. iliiad?? its more then that as you can see their explanations, even that of nuclear weapons and its characteristics, cloning, cosmology, cyclic model of universe, evolution, relativity- by considering space and time as illussion, you can also see ancient Indian unit of measurement, timeline ranges …………. etc etc (you can see similar in your holy book also). many of us takes this Mahabharata, Ramayana, Gita as a media to convey the deep ideas of complex, deep Vedas and Upanishads, which conveys balanced way of living.
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@Noise:
In indian cosmogony, time and evolution are cyclical, not linear. The earth is extremely old. And so is human life. There were highly advanced civilizations before us too on this planet. (Do read the book by Erich von Daniken. And read the Mahabharata for yourself. Kamala Subramanyam’s Mahabharata is a great edition–will be to your liking.) So yes, there were UFOs/vimanas/anti-gravity vehicles and missiles etc even back then. There is plenty of worldwide documentation. Not only that. The dug up sites of indus valley (moenjodaro, harappa et al) and the bones found there show very high radioactivity levels (you can google it); they were probably sites of low intensity nuclear explosions during the great war circa 3000 BC.
With time, new knowledge and unfolding discoveries even our understanding of the past evolves. Let our mental concepts and understanding not be static.
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@Noise:
it’s the same as people believing in angels,jinns and flying horses.This missile shield is useless since both Pakistan and India are working on MIRV.It’s just another fake show of strength by our govt.
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The thing is, whatever the shield is for, it is useless when the in comming missile has a TOF of less than 2 mins, The shield would i guess take some time to locate, lock, launch and hit, collective time taken more than the TOF of the incomming, resulting in the shield’s missile acting like a free bird only if the Shield works.
Regards.
A missile
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@Missile:
are you a ballistic missile? of a short range one?
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@Ramanujam:
Fully agree. Even a non-violent and pacifist lion has the right to have claws and fangs lest the rest of the jungle mistake its pacifism for incompetence.
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@Roflcopter:
I remember during the Kargil war, Pakistan was moving it’s missiles closer to the border. When asked about it, an Indian Army spokes person replied, “if Pak missiles have the range they claim, why move them at all?“
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i don’t understand the ignorance of some of the comments over here, no missile shield can be 100% foolproof until and unless you kill the incoming missile at the launch site itself,but to attain such things we need to have certain basics covered and this is one of them, if India attain such capability in 1 or 2 decades, what would pakistan do with its current missile system, India is just making a point and asking some questions with it,either you can answer or you can keep mum.
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Now here what i see ten’s of INDIAN’s trying to prove the accuracy of the interceptor missile. Well guy’s we all got your point. Please do not freak out…..:)
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@Rajendra Kalkhande
Thanks for a down to earth,sensible comment and without being jingoistic.
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@Rajendra Kalkhande: A very rational thinking and non jingoistic note.
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well missile safety is for far away countries not neighbours because it recuires 2 minute for detection and new short range missile can reach from tharparkar to gujrat in pronto
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India and Pakistan should cooperate in weapon testing. Just recently India tested a Missile-Shield system and Pakistan tested a missile. Why not cooperate by Pakistan firing the missile into India and India can test their missile defense to see if it works. Both countries can save money that way.
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A good way to squander money …. keep it up
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