Junput In West Bengal To Host New DRDO Missile Testing Range For Defence Trials

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is advancing plans to establish a new missile and weapons testing range at Junput in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district along the Bay of Bengal, according to a report. The proposed facility is expected to expand India’s defence testing infrastructure on the eastern coast and supplement the existing Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha. The move comes as India continues to expand its indigenous defence development capabilities and strengthen infrastructure required for testing and evaluating new weapon systems.

The proposed Junput facility is expected to function as an additional testing hub for missiles and other weapons systems. According to the report, the range would help address the growing demand for testing infrastructure as the DRDO and Indian defence industry continue to develop a wider range of indigenous systems for the armed forces. Establishing another testing location could provide greater flexibility for trials and help accommodate the increasing number of programmes requiring access to specialised test facilities.

Junput is located about 70 kilometres from Chandipur, where the DRDO operates the Integrated Test Range, a major facility used for testing missiles and other weapon systems. The Chandipur range has played an important role in India’s missile development programmes by providing infrastructure for flight trials and performance evaluation. The proposed facility at Junput would therefore be positioned within the same broad eastern coastal testing network while adding capacity beyond what is currently available at Chandipur.

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One of the key objectives of the proposed range would be to share the increasing testing workload at Chandipur. As new missiles, weapon systems and associated technologies move through development and evaluation, testing requirements can increase significantly. An additional range could help provide more opportunities to schedule trials and allow different programmes to be tested without placing the entire burden on a single major facility. It could also offer additional infrastructure for future defence projects as testing requirements expand.

The development of the Junput range would also fit into India’s broader effort to achieve greater self-reliance in defence. The country has been focusing on domestic research, design and development of military systems, with the DRDO playing a central role in these efforts. Testing is a crucial stage in the development of indigenous weapons because systems need to undergo repeated trials to assess performance, reliability and other operational parameters before they can advance towards deployment. Expanding testing infrastructure can therefore support the wider defence production and development ecosystem.

The proposed facility could consequently become an important addition to India’s defence testing network on the eastern coast. Its location near Junput and its role as a supplement to Chandipur are intended to increase the country's capacity to conduct missile and weapons trials. The report by The Economic Times said the plan is being advanced as India seeks to expand its testing infrastructure and support its growing portfolio of indigenous defence programmes. If developed as proposed, the Junput range would provide additional capacity while complementing the capabilities already available at Chandipur.

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