The Integrated Test Range (ITR) is a Test and Evaluation (T&E) centre of the

Defence Research and Development Organisation The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is an agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, charged with the military's research and development, head ...

(DRDO). Located in

Balasore Balasore, also known as Baleswar, is a city in the state of Odisha, about from the state capital Bhubaneswar and from Kolkata, in eastern India. It is the administrative headquarters of Balasore district and the largest city as well as heal ...

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

, it provide safe and reliable launch facilities for performance evaluation of rockets, missiles and air-borne weapon system. The present director of ITR is Sri. H K Ratha.

History

As of April 2024, DRDO is working to establish a missile test range at Junput area in

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. The location is 177 km from

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

, 40 km from

Digha Digha (), is a seaside resort town in the state of West Bengal, India. It lies in Purba Medinipur district and at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal. The town has a low gradient with a shallow sand beach. It is a popular sea resort in India ...

and 70 km from Chandipur. The Range will cover an area of 8.73 acres. The project received approval from

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is an Government of India, Indian government Ministry (government department), ministry. The ministry Portfolio (government), portfolio is currently held by Bhupender Yadav, Union ...

. On 10 October 2024, the

Cabinet Committee on Security The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) is a cabinet committee of the Government of India that discusses, debates and is the final decision-making body on senior appointments in the national security apparatus, defence policy and expenditure, and ...

approved the proposal for the establishment of a new missile testing range in Nagayalanka region in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. This will likely be the revival of the Machilipatnam Test Range Project. On 25 February 2025, DRDO and

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

have successfully conducted flight trials of a first-of-its-kind naval antiship missile (NASM-SR) that has ‘Man-in-Loop’ features, which is unique as it gives the capability of inflight targeting.

References

External links

integrated-test-range
{{Authority control 1982 establishments in Orissa Government agencies established in 1982 Defence Research and Development Organisation laboratories Research and development in India Research institutes established in 1982 Education in Odisha