Chandipore (Orissa): President APJ Abdul Kalam sought capability enhancement of India's missile test range here to meet the challenges of the future on Tuesday.
"We have to plan for a 21st century range with enhanced capabilities," Kalam said while inaugurating the National Conference on Range Technology (NACORT-2006) at the Integrated Test Range at Chandipore, in the coastal district of Balasore.
"The test range must have provision for observation and surveillance through different stations in space, air, ground and sea. We may have transportable terminals on land, sea and space," he said, addressing scientists and delegates gathered for the conference.
"Time of stay of the weapon systems on the launch pad has to be minimised so that we can have more missions on a given day," said Kalam, who is a former director of the Chandipore test range and under whom India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) was launched in the 1980s.
"The range should also have provision for maintenance, repair and servicing of the landed vehicles prior to certification and subsequent re-launch. The range must be totally networked with all the instrumentation and facilities.
"Ranges have become borderless. There will be more sea-based sensors, air-based sensors, satellite links and the large data handling capability with sensor data fusion. Expert systems will assist the human operations in a big way," the president maintained.
"Considering that both the land range and sea ranges are in the east coast, they will be subjected to vagaries of the east coast weather like heavy rains, cyclones and sometimes tsunami," said Kalam, who is on a two-day visit to the state.
"I visualise the range to evaluate a multi-target handling surface to air missile system, which is capable of handling four missiles against four flying targets from different directions," the president said.
NACORT-2006 opened a day after India successfully tested a new interceptor rocket - the first step in creating a defence system against incoming ballistic missiles on Monday.
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