The interceptor never took off to intercept incoming “enemy” missile, say sources

The interceptor missile mission, which took place on May 15, was a failure despite claims of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to the contrary. The interceptor never took off to intercept the incoming “enemy” missile which merely fell into the Bay of Bengal, informed sources said.

An agency report on May 16 said a modified Prithvi missile was launched on May 15 from a naval ship in the Bay of Bengal and it mimicked the trajectory of a missile coming from an enemy country.

Informed sources, however, said the interceptor missile never took off from the island; so no interception took place at all. “Post-flight analysis is going on. We do not know whether there was problem in detecting the missile, whether radars tracked it and communicated it to the interceptor,” said the sources.

The DRDO developed both the Prithvi missile and the interceptor.

2015 mission failed too

In April 2015, a similar mission failed after the interceptor dived into the Bay of Bengal a few seconds after lift off. In that mission, the DRDO planned to conduct the test against an electronic target missile. In April 2014, the warhead in the interceptor failed to explode, although the interception of the incoming “enemy” missile took place at an altitude of 120 km.