This Means Drama: Indian Missile Defense Is Raising Tensions With Pakistan

Michael Peck

Security, Asia

A defensive effort that is making war more likely.

Key point: India has a long way to go until its defenses are ready, but Pakistan will not wait.

India says it has successfully tested an interceptor capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.

But could this trigger a nuclear war with Pakistan?

On August 2, the Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO) -- India's equivalent of the Pentagon's DARPA research agency -- launched an Advanced Area Defense (AAD) missile from Abdul Kalam island off India's eastern coast.

"The endo-atmospheric missile, capable of intercepting incoming targets at an altitude of 15 to 25 kilometers [9 to 16 miles] was launched against multiple simulated targets of 1,500 kilometer [932 mile]-class ballistic missiles," according to the DRDO announcement.

"One target among simultaneously incoming multiple targets was selected on real time, the weapon system radars tracked the target and the missile locked on to it and intercepted the target with a high degree of accuracy. The complete event including the engagement and interception was tracked by a number of electro-optical tracking systems, radars and telemetry stations. All the mission objectives were successfully met."

India's missile defense program is a two-tiered system: the Prithvi missile (derived from the Prithvi tactical ballistic missile) for exo-atmospheric intercepts in outer space, before they near the target, and the Advanced Area Defense missile for endo-atmospheric intercepts within the Earth's atmosphere, in the terminal phase when the target warhead is making its final descent.

In that sense, it is similar to the 1960s U.S. Anti-Ballistic Missile System, which used Safeguard and Sprint missiles, or any integrated air defense system. A long-range interceptor to take out the incoming missile far from the target, and a short-range point defense weapon to destroy any missile that penetrates the long-range screen.

Previous tests of Indian interceptors targeted short-range Prithvi ballistic missiles on a trajectory that mimicked medium-range missiles. The Diplomat magazine suggests that the dummy target this time could have been an Agni, an intermediate-range missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads.