Page 9 - ADT JANUARY 2021 Online Magazine

to purchase the S-400 air defence system may trigger US sanc-
tions on New Delhi.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) - an independent
and bipartisan research wing of the U.S. Congress - in its latest
report to Congress, said India is "eager for more technology-sharing
and co-production initiatives, while the United States urges more
reforms in India's defence offsets policy and higher Foreign Direct
Investment caps in its defence sector." [ MISSILE SYSTEMS ]

The report warned that "India's multi-billion dollar deal to purchase
the Russia-made S-400 air defence system may trigger US sanc-
tions on India under the Countering America's Adversaries Through defence system consisting of two land and sea-
Sanctions Act." based interceptor missiles, namely the Prithvi
The CRS' reports are neither official reports of the US Congress Air Defence (PAD) missile for high altitude inter-
nor reflect the view of Congressmen. They are prepared by inde- ception and the Advanced Air Defence (AAD)
pendent experts for the lawmakers to take informed decisions. missile for interception at low altitude.
Last month, Russia had said that implementation of its ongoing
defence deals with India, including the supply of a batch of S-400 The Defense Research and Development
missile systems, is advancing well notwithstanding the threat of Organization (DRDO), the country’s nodal
U.S. sanctions. defence agency, which has developed the
system and the Indian Air Force (IAF), which
Russian Ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev lambasted the has carried out the tests, have submitted a final
U.S. sanctions on Turkey for procuring the S-400 missile systems induction strategy before the government. “All
under a US$2.5 billion deal, saying Moscow does not recognise tests and trails carried out so far have been
such unilateral actions. successful, including the radars and missiles,”
As far as India is concerned, we share the same platform. India's a DRDO official informs.
position is also crystal clear. No sanctions are acknowledged other
than those imposed by the UN Security Council. Whatever the The first BMD will be installed in the national
future is, we believe that our ties could withstand the coming chal- capital New Delhi, and the second one could
lenges," he said. be in the financial capital Mumbai, the official
notes.
"We do not recognise or welcome unilateral sanctions as a lan-
guage or tool or instrument of interstate or international relations, DRDO had earlier stated that the first phase
other than those applied by the UN Security Council," he said. of the BMD shield would be ready by 2013 to
Analysts feel that India has good reasons to pursue the system, protect New Delhi from hostile missiles with a
besides endeavouring to strengthen itself as an independent 2000 km range. It had also said that by 2016,
minded country working to achieve its national interests. the second phase would be operational with
the capability to kill hostile missiles with 5000
Ballistic Missile Defence km range.
India is also likely to expedite the installation process of its Ballistic
Missile Defence (BMD) system aimed at protecting its important India has been working on a two-tiered BMD
cities and vital installations and safeguarding its critical asset from system since 1999. The first layer is the Prithvi
being targeted by missiles of hostile nations. Air Defense (PAD) Pradyumna and Prithvi
India’s BMD programme is structured as a two-layered missile Defense Vehicle (PDV) interceptors designed to
destroy missiles at exo-atmospheric altitudes
of 50–180 kilometers. PAD has the capability
to engage the 300 km to 2,000 km class of
ballistic missiles at speeds of 5 Mach.

The missile is be guided by an inertial navi-
gation system with mid-course updates from
the Long-Range Tracking Radar (LRTR) and
active radar homing in the terminal phase.
India has specifically developed a LRTR named
Swordfish as part of its BMD programme. It
helps in tracking and providing fire control
to interceptor missiles. Currently, Swordfish
LRTR has a range of 600 to 800 km and can
spot objects two inches in diameter. India has

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