ABSTRACT
The discourse surrounding the possibility of an Indian Ballistic Missile Defence System (BMD) is unfortunately lost in the cacophony of debate—most ill-informed and some nonsensical—as to the ‘separate’ nature of the Indian system. India’s air defences currently rely on a mix of MiG-21/-23/-29 and Mirage 2000 interceptors and 38 squadrons of surface-to-air missiles. The Indian Air Defence Ground Environment System employs a three-tier detection network. The challenge of defending against cruise missiles has assumed as much importance in the Indian context as BMD. India’s efforts to obtain a ballistic missile interception capability date back to between 1996 and 1998. The Advanced Air Defence system is an antiballistic missile designed to intercept incoming ballistic missiles in the endoatmosphere at altitudes of 15 and 30 km. India’s efforts to develop an exoatmospheric interceptor have been markedly slower than those made in respect of their endoatmospheric interceptors.
