| Posted: January 8, 2008 |
India to have defence missile shield in 2 years |
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(Nanowerk News) Within two years, India will have in its armoury a full fledged ballistic missile defence (BMD) system that can neutralise enemy missiles headed for its shores.
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The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is also gearing up to fit Agni-III to non-conventional (nuclear) warheads.
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Revealing these details on Monday, DRDO Hyderabad programme director VK Saraswat said, “Agni-III can chase targets within a range of 3,000 km. The DRDO is working on developing the missile to destroy targets 5,000 km away. The BMD system will enable us to intercept and destroy enemy missiles within three minutes after they are detected on our radar.”
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Speaking on ‘Missile Technology in the 21st century’ on the final day of the 95th Indian Science Congress, he said future defence systems will rely mostly on nanotechnology, bio-technology and information technology.
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“Information technology will play a key role and soon the ‘ebomb’ would be a reality. It can destroy all electronic devices within its range when it is dropped in an area. Future missiles will be smaller, smarter, autonomous, lighter and cheaper,” he predicted.
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The DRDO is developing a short-range missile system to launch short-range missiles from any platform including surface, air and water. Among the other credits of the DRDO are beyond visual range air to air missiles and the surface-to-surface Nag missiles.
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On the entry of private players into the defence sector, Saraswat welcomed the development and exuded confidence that the private sector will be equally responsible when it comes to national security.
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However, he felt the private sector needs to graduate from component manufacturing stage to sub-system and system development. He opined that entry of private companies would solve the problem of manpower shortage in the industry.
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