Star Wars: India set to test missile defence shield

On Sunday or Monday, in Chandipur, Odisha, the Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO) will test-fire an interceptor missile, whose task is to hit an incoming ballistic missile target, in this case a Prithvi missile fired a few minutes earlier. The test is akin to striking a bullet with a bullet.

This will be DRDO's latest test towards developing an anti-ballistic missile (ABM) shield, to protect Indian targets against nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles fired from Pakistan or China.

In 2011, former DRDO chief Avinash Chander had told Business Standard that an ABM shield would protect the national capital within three years ('Delhi could have anti-missile shield by 2014', August 29, 2011).

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