India's first floating missile test range Anvesh set to start sea trials

INS Anvesh will allow the Navy to have live missile and torpedo firing and the Army to carry out surface-to-surface tactical missile tests.

Anvesh, India's first floating missile test range, will commence its sea trials this month. 

Designed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation and built by the Cochin Shipyard, Anvesh is expected to be commissioned in the next couple of months. 

Anvesh's sea trials come amid reports that India will -- on September 10 -- induct surveillance ship Dhruv which can track nuclear and ballistic missile launches from a distance.

According to reports, the commissioning of the 10,000-tonne Anvesh would ease the strain on land-based test platforms while conducting missile tests of 1500 km range for the two-tier ballistic missile defence system. The BMD system can engage and destroy adversary missiles at different altitudes.

So far, only a select group of countries operate floating missile test ranges.

Anvesh is equipped with electro-optical missile tracking, S-band radar tracking, launchpad, telemetry devices, control and mission control centre for testing phase II of Ballistic Missile Defence interceptor missiles. 

It will also allow the Navy to have live missile and torpedo firing and the Army to carry out surface-to-surface tactical missile tests.

Representative Image Used