R-Day celebrations: DRDO displays A-SAT weapon system

The DRDO Anti-Satellite (A-SAT) Weapon System was on display at Rajpath in the Republic Day parade on Sunday.

With space becoming a vital dimension of any country's economic and military superiority, A-SAT (Anti-Satellite) weapons play a critical role in providing the necessary strategic deterrence.

In March last year, the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) launched 'Mission Shakti', India's first A-SAT mission and demonstrated its anti-satellite technology.

A live orbiting satellite in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) was destroyed in a "Hit to Kill" mode with 10 centimetre accuracy, with the satellite and the missile approaching each other at a high speed of nearly 11 km per second.

The covert technology of 'hit to kill', developed for the first time by India for such applications, enables it to destroy an enemy satellite by directly colliding with it with pin-point accuracy.

The successful demonstration has placed India at par with the elite club of three nations -- US, Russia and China -- that possess this capability.