It was a hat-trick by the DRDO or It was a trick by the DRDO

[jawadqamar]

The Hindu : Front Page : Interceptor does it again

It was a hat-trick for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

In a third successful mission, it proved on Friday that India could shield itself against ballistic missiles from enemy countries by successfully testing an interceptor missile from the Wheeler Island off the Orissa coast. The interceptor shot down a Dhanush missile heading towards the island.
The interception took place at an altitude of 80 km over the Bay of Bengal. The Dhanush missile was destroyed in its path in both a direct-hit and detonation of the warhead of the interceptor, which is an advanced Prithvi missile.
Dhanush was simulating the trajectory of ballistic missiles with a range of 1,500 km, similar to Pakistan’s Ghauri.
The previous successful missions took place on November 27, 2006 and December 6, 2007, when incoming “enemy” ballistic missiles were destroyed in direct-hits at an altitude of 48 km and 15 km respectively.
V.K. Saraswat, Programme Director, Air Defence, called the Friday success “a major milestone in the direction of proving the capability of our ballistic missile defence (BMD) shield.”
He told The Hindu from the Wheeler Island: “The success proves the robustness, reliability and repeatability of the design of our system for engaging incoming ballistic missiles with a range of 300 km to 1,500 km.”
As the plot-boards in the Launch Control Centre on the Wheeler Island showed that the “enemy” missile was pulverised in its track, DRDO’s young missile technologists turned jubilant. They carried Dr. Saraswat on their shoulders and took him around, shouting, “DRDO Jai Ho, DRDO zindabad, DRDO hip hip hooray.’
Dr. Saraswat described it as “total mood of euphoria and excitement.”
M. Natarajan, Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, watched the mission from the Wheeler Island.
W. Selvamurthy, Chief Controller, DRDO, called it “a hat-trick and an important milestone for achieving the BMD shield for the country.”
Manoeuvrable warhead
The interceptor used for the first time a manoeuvrable warhead called gimballed directional warhead (GDW), which can rotate 360 degrees.
As the single-stage Dhanush, 9.4 metres tall and weighing 4.5 tonnes, lifted off at 4.17 p.m. from the ship located 150 km away from the Wheeler Island, radars at Konark and Paradip in Orissa tracked it 50 seconds into its flight. The Mission Control Centre (the MCC) on the island also received information about it.
The MCC declared it a hostile target and that it would impact very close to the island. This data was used by the Launch Control Centre (LCC) to compute the trajectory of the interceptor, called Prithvi Air Defence (PAD II), to engage the target missile at an altitude of 80 km. The LCC also automatically decided when the interceptor should lift off and the launch computer gave the command for it.
About 160 seconds into the flight of Dhanush plus 150 seconds after the lift-off of the interceptor, the interceptor’s homing seeker acquired the target. Using this information, the interceptor’s computer guided it towards the target and brought it very close to it. At this point of time, the radio proximity fuse (RPF) of the GDW computed the time at which it should explode.
Direct hit
Dr. Saraswat, who is also Chief Controller, DRDO, said: “When the target and the interceptor were practically colliding with each other, the warhead was detonated which led to the fragmentation of the target and the interceptor. It was a direct hit and also warhead detonation. The large number of fragments formed due to collision and detonation were tracked by the ground radars and we could see that hundreds of new tracks had been formed, confirming that the target was destroyed in both a direct hit and detonation.”
He praised the young scientists of the DRDO’s missile complex at Hyderabad and other DRDO laboratories for the mission’s success.
“It was one of the most complex missions planned, designed and executed by the DRDO with clock-work precision. I feel satisfied that the BMD shield of the DRDO has reached a great level of maturity.”
The interceptor was a two-stage vehicle, with the first stage fuelled by liquid propellants and the second stage by solid propellants. It was 10 metres long and weighed 5.2 tonnes.

It was a hat-trick by the DRDO or It was a trick by the DRDO

How could the difference between lift-off of the target and lift-off of the interceptor is only 10seconds when target missile was tracked 50 seconds into the flight? Am I miss understanding something here or…………? How could interceptor be launched before the detection? Some Hindi film magicians helping DRDO in ABM project?

 

[linkinpark]

About 160 seconds into the flight of Dhanush plus 150 seconds after the lift-off of the interceptor, the interceptor’s homing seeker acquired the target.

You have to use the grey cells in the brain a little better. They key word here is 'plus'. After 160 seconds of target flight, the interceptor took off and after 150 seconds to this, seeker has acquired the target.

So, the difference between their take offs is 160 seconds not 10 seconds. Got it.

 

[Luftwaffe]

jawadqamar its hollywood mixed with bollywood..India is far from being even having a working Missile defense shield they might get a working one till next 10 years.

 

[rubyjackass]

I still have my doubts. I wait a while before believing in anything in what DRDO says.

 

[jawadqamar]

BMD shield will be ready for deployment in 3-4 years time
"It will take us one or two more trials before our system is ready to be offered for deployment," DRDO Chief Controller and Distinguished Scientist W Selvamurthy

 

[Awesome]

Linkin Park has explained what the sentence probably meant more accurately.

Closing the thread.