Anti-Missile System

Last Update: May 2023 (Anti-Missile System)

Table of Contents

This article deals with the ‘Anti-Missile System.’ This is part of our series on ‘Science and Technology’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.

Indian Ballistic Missile Defence (IBMD) System / Anti Missile System / Air Defence System

IMBD is an Anti-Missile System or Missile Defence System.
It is an initiative to protect Indian cities from Ballistic Missile attacks.
It was proposed in the mid-1990s by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
The functioning of the Anti-Missile System is explained in the infographic below.

Side Topic: Iron Dome System of Israel

IBMD System is just like the Iron Dome of Israel. Israel faces a large number of short-range rocket attacks from Gaza. Hence, they have installed Anti Missile System to protect important cities like Tel Aviv from such attacks. It is the most effective system with a success rate of up to 90% (very high).

Side Topic: THAAD System

US has installed THAAD System in South Korea after the threat of Missile attacks by North Korea.
THAAD is also an Anti-Missile / Ballistic Missile Defence System.

Indian System

India’s IBMD System is double-tiered, consisting of two interceptor systems.

1. Pradyumna or Prithvi Air Defence (PAD)

It uses Prithvi Missile.
It is used for high altitude interception and can intercept missiles up to an altitude of 80 km.
It is the preferred option because the target would be engaged at a far distance.

2. Ashvin or Advanced Air Defence (AAD)

It uses Akash Surface to Air Missile.
It is used for low-altitude interception and can intercept missiles at 15-30 Km.
It is not a preferred option because the missile is already very close & in the case of a nuclear missile, immense destruction can happen.

Both are manufactured by DRDO.
For tracking & guidance, Swordfish Radar System is developed by India in conjugation with Israel.
The program began in 1999
- Phase I: completed.
- Phase II: It was expected to be completed by 2016 & first to be placed in Delhi & Mumbai
- Present Status: DRDO was not able to complete it & it is still in the development stage.
The current system can intercept up to 1000 km class Ballistic missile at the speed of Mach 5.
After the USA, Israel and Russia, India is the 4th country to develop indigenous Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems.

S-400 Triumf

Russian Air Defence System, which India is in the process to buy.
It is considered the best Air Defence System (full defence and not just missile) and can protect air space against strategic bombers, stealth fighters, spy planes, missiles and drones.
It is a long-range surface-to-air missile with a range of 400 km. Hence, if deployed on the Indo-Pakistan border, it can track the movement of Pakistani aircraft from the instance they take off from the runway.
It can track 300 targets simultaneously with the help of its has a 3D phased array acquisition radar.
Turkey and Qatar are also interested in buying this. China has already received the first delivery of the system.
It will receive delivery by the end of 2021 and integrate with India’s indigenous Ballistic Missile Defence system developed by DRDO to create a multi-tier air defence.
Problem: USA can impose sanctions on India under CAATSA (i.e. Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act). Earlier, India got a waiver from the USA to buy this system, but the Ukraine crisis has put this deal in danger.

NASAMS – II

NASAMS = National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System
It was developed by Raytheon (US) in partnership with the Kongsberg Defence System of Norway.
India will use it to defend the VIP-89 Region (consisting of Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament etc.)
It is equipped with the latest 3D sentinel radars and missile launchers which can rapidly identify and destroy enemy aircraft, UAVs and cruise missiles.
The same system is used to protect Washington DC and numerous NATO countries.

VSHORAD Missile System

Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORAD) missile system is designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO)
It will replace the Russian Igla-M system.
It is meant to target low-altitude aerial threats at short range.
Being light and portable, it is a man-portable Air Defence System (MANPAD) and can be deployed in the mountainous region at short notice.