January 4, 2000

HEADLINE: INDIA TRYING TO DESIGN ABM SYSTEM ON US LINES: KALAM

India is trying to design a state-of-the-art Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) system on the lines of the US Star-War system, according to Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, the architect of Indian missiles programme.

While the country's first Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) would be tested before the end of this month, efforts were on to operationalise within two or three years all missile systems, besides Agni and Prithvi, which had already been operationalised, Dr Kalam said. "The country can pursue Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) programme if adequate funds are made available for the project," he told the plenary session of the 87th Indian Science Congress here last evening.

The ambitious LCA project, initiated about a decade ago by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Aeronautical Development Agency, both in Bangalore, to meet the requirements of the Indian Air Force for carrying out low-altitude warfare training, is already behind schedule. So far India has produced a prototype of LCA, considered the world's smallest fighter aircraft.

Dr Kalam, who recently assumed charge as the Chief Scientific Adviser to the government, was sharing the platform with ISRO Chairman K Kasturirangan and Atomic Energy Commission Chairman R Chidambaram, unfolding 'the Indian strategies of science and technology in the 21st century'.

Dr Kalam said the unmanned supersonic aircraft being developed by ISRO would go a long way in defence application and help save the lives of pilots.

The aircraft would combine critical technologies used in missiles and satellites too. In case of a nuclear warhead attack by the enemy, the aircraft would be automatically activated to neutralise the weapons, he said.