On December 28, India’s indigenously produced low-altitude Advanced Area Defense (AAD) interceptor successfully destroyed a target Prithvi ballistic missile over the Bay of Bengal. The intercept occurred at an altitude of 15 km and the interceptor was fired from the Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha’s coast. This was India’s third test of the interceptor. Two...
The Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully test-fired the BrahMos-A supersonic cruise missile from a Sukhoi Su-30MKI multirole fighter jet on November 22, 2017. The missile was “gravity dropped,” after which the engine started, propelling the missile towards its target in the Bay of Bengal off India’s eastern coast. BrahMos was a joint venture between India’s...
On November 7, the Indian Ministry of Defense announced that its Defense Research and Development Organization successfully test-fired the Nirbhay, an indigenous land-attack cruise missile. The Nirbhay was fired from the Integrated Test Range on Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of the southeastern province of Odisha. “The missile majestically cruised for a total time...
On June 2, India successfully test-fired its Prithvi-II ballistic missile from Abdul Kalam Island (formerly Wheeler Island) off the Odisha coast in East India. “As part of user training exercises, the test was conducted by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of the Indian Army with logistics support from DRDO. The missile used for the test was...
On May 4, India test-fired its medium-range, nuclear-capable Agni-2 missile. The rocket was launched from Abdul Kalam Island, located off the east Indian coast. Certain Indian defense officials stated that the test did not meet all the desired parameters, though others claimed success. The Defence Research and Development Organization did not offer official confirmation. The...
On April 21, 2017, the Indian Navy conducted the first test-launch of the sea-to-land variant of its Brahmos two-stage supersonic cruise missile. The Brahmos was launched from the Indian naval warship the INS Teg (F45) off the coasts of the Andman and Nicobar Islands. This variant of the Brahmos has a range of 290 km...
On March 1, India conducted the second test this month of its ballistic missile defense system when a low-altitude interceptor destroyed a target Prithvi missile over the Bay of Bengal. This test demonstrated the lower tier of the planned two-tier ballistic missile defense system, intercepting the target in the endo-atmosphere at 15 km altitude. According to...
On February 23, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved a $2.5 billion purchase of Israel’s multi-range surface-to-air missile system (MR-SAM). The deal includes 40 firing units and 200 missiles, each with a strike range of 70 km. The project, to be jointly developed by the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization and the Israeli Aircraft...
On February 11, India conducted a test of its two-tier ballistic missile defense system. Reports indicate that an exo-atmospheric interceptor, also called the “Prithvi Defense Vehicle” (PDV), successfully launched from India’s Wheeler Island test range, approximately 200 km away from the ship-launched target missile. Accroding to DRDO, the PDV intercepted the target at an altitude of...
On January 2, 2017, India conducted the sixth test-launch of its Agni-4 nuclear-capable ballistic missile from Wheeler Island. India’s Defense Research and Development Organization claimed the test was a success, and described the Agni-4 as a “sophisticated surface-to-surface missile equipped with modern and compact avionics to provide high level of reliability.” The Agni-4 is a two-stage solid...
