N-capable Barak-8 successfully test fired

India on Tuesday successfully test-fired the most advanced surface-to-air ballistic missile Barak-8 from the Integrated Test Range launch pad at Chandipur off Orissa coast, nearly 210 km from here. The missile was fired from Launch Pad-3 of ITR at 10.13am. Residents around a 2.5km radius of the launch complex were evacuated as a precautionary measure.

Jointly developed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation, Israel Aerospace Industries and Israel’s Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastr-ucture, Barak-8 has the ability to hit the target within a 70km radius. Sources in the DRDO said the missile travelled flawlessly on its trajectory and met all its mission objectives. The missile is designed to defend any airborne threat and apart from aircraft and helicopters can also intercept supersonic aircraft and missiles. It is a nuclear capable ballistic missile, weighing around 2.7 tonne and 4.5 meters in length. Earlier, Barak-8 was successfully test fired twice on June 30 and once on July 1. Reports from Delhi said, president Pranab Mukherjee congratulated the DRDO for the successful launch of Barak-8.

“Congratulations DRDO on the successful test firing of Indo-Israeli surface-to-air missile Barak-8 from Odisha today,” the official handle of the President tweeted on Tuesday. Speaking about the launch, a DRDO official said: “Apart from the missile, the system includes a Multi Functional Surveillance and Threat Alert Radar for detection, tracking and guidance of the missile.”

He added that the missile would provide the capability to neutralise any aerial threats.