BOLSTERING BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENCE
No one can challenge the fact that the inception of the BJP Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 has changed the scenario with regard to the country’s defence capabilities as India has taken a big leap in bolstering its edifice with regard to military equipment. In this context, the country is witnessing fast changes with each day proving to be significant in making things robust and giving the country the strength which it used to long for years together but the successive governments never paid any heed and often gave alibis like dearth of funds, etc. As of now, the changes are visible on ground and instead of being a defensive country, India today has joined the group of countries which never shirk to attack on adversary nations if these indulge in any kind of misadventure as was the case if Pakistan, when it perpetrated Pulwama attack and in turn India carried out air strikes to devastate terror camps established by the rogue nation well inside its territory. The day was historic for India as it showed Pakistan its real position. In the same context, the country is moving ahead to bolster its defence capability and in this series, India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has now successfully conducted the maiden flight test of phase-II Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) interceptor AD-1 missile with a large kill altitude bracket off the Odisha coast. It is pertinent to mention that AD-1 is a long-range interceptor missile designed for both low exo-atmospheric and endo-atmospheric interception of long-range ballistic missiles and aircraft. It is propelled by a two-stage solid motor and equipped with the indigenously developed advanced control system, navigation and guidance algorithm to precisely guide the vehicle to the target. This technology is available to very few nations in the world and it will further strengthen India’s BMD capability to the next level. As this interceptor will provide greater operational flexibility to the users and has the capability to engage different types of targets, this step in India’s defence journey will again be the historical one and could be considered as stepping stone towards India becoming world power in defence capabilities.