NEW DELHI — India says recent trials have demonstrated the country’s ability to intercept ballistic missiles, placing it among a select group of countries with advanced capabilities to that effect.
In a statement over the weekend, the Ministry of Defense said it conducted three consecutive flight tests on June 10 and 11 to demonstrate “multi-layered defense” against long-range ballistic missile threats and an anti-ship capability at medium range.
“The interceptors successfully engaged their respective targets. The systems are designed and developed with latest technologies to address the emerging missile threats,” the statement said.“These tests have put the country in the elite group of nations having BMD (ballistic missile defense) capability to engage up to Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles.”
The statement did not specify the range of the targets engaged in the trials, which were carried out from in Chandipur in India’s eastern Orissa state.
Currently, only a handful of countries such as the United States, Russia, China and Israel have highly advanced missile defense systems.
In a post on X,India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that “Multi-layered BMD capability was successfully demonstrated.”
Analysts said the tested technologies could potentially strengthen India’s missile deterrent capabilities as it faces missile threats from its two nuclear-armed neighbors, Pakistan and China — unresolved border disputes have triggered military tensions with both countries in the past.
Pakistan fields a range of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, while China’s far larger and more sophisticated missile arsenal includes intercontinental ballistic missiles.
“The systems tested will be part of the country’s ballistic missile defense architecture, although it remains to be seen when they can be operationalized. But India requires a robust missile defense shield because China has a potent intercontinental ballistic missile capacity. We cannot depend on imported systems,” according to Ajay Lele, deputy director-general at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi.
Analysts say India’s existing ballistic missile defense architecture primarily defends against short- and medium-range ballistic missile threats, although its full operational capabilities have not been publicly disclosed.
The trials last week were conducted by India’s Defense Research and Development Organization, which is at the forefront of efforts to build indigenous air defense systems. Over the last decade, New Delhi has pushed to boost defense self-reliance through greater domestic manufacturing and technology development.
The technologies demonstrated during the recent trials could support an ambitious project India announced last August to develop a multi-layered air and missile defense network by 2035. The proposed system would defend against a range of threats, including ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
Pointing to the vital role that air defense systems played in the conflict zones of the Middle East during the U.S., Iran, and Israel hostilities, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said Friday that the country was committed to creating such a multi-level missile defense system.
“These recent tests could be a starting point for that project,” according to analyst Lele.