RSS
A test of an Indian missile interceptor today ended unsuccessfully, RIA Novosti reported (see GSN, March 3).
The military fired a Prithvi 2 target ballistic missile from the Chandipur test range, but the interceptor failed to take off from Wheeler Island, according to Indian defense sources.
The cause of the malfunction in the new Advanced Air Defense interceptor has not been determined, though an initial assessment indicated that the target missile went off-course, preventing correct alignment by the interceptor.
The test launch is part of an ongoing Indian effort to establish a ballistic missile shield (RIA Novosti, March 15).
The failed launch follows three tests that went as planned since 2006, the Associated Press reported.
"It would undergo several more tests before the design is technologically confirmed," Jane's Defense Weekly analyst Rahul Bedi.
With the induction of a new system, India would join a select number of states with functioning ballistic missile defenses.
"The level of errors in this game is very high. It's important because basically it is aimed as a defensive measure against nuclear rivals China and Pakistan," Bedi said (Associated Press/Jakartapost.com, March 15).