Bengal approves DRDO’s testing range in Purba Medinipur district

India will get another weapon and missile testing range in Bengal’s Junput coastal village in Purba Medinipur district. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has approved DRDO’s proposal to set up weapon and missile testing range in the state. The chief minister said this will be a big project for West Bengal’s development. The proposed testing range in Junput will be the third major hub for DRDO after the Chandipur sites in Odisha and the proposed testing centre in Andhra. India has one missile testing facility, known as the Integrated Test Range, which operates across two launch complexes in Odisha.
The proposed Junput range, located about 70km along the Bay of Bengal from Chandipur, will share the workload of the Odisha testing range and boost the country’s defence testing capabilities. In April 2024, DRDO had proposed a testing range along the Purba Medinipur coast to complement its integrated testing range in Odisha's Chandipur. However, the then TMC govt had not given land for it. CM Suvendu Adhikari revealed that DRDO had sent a letter for the project but the then TMC govt at the helm did not respond. "I have okayed it. This will mbe a big project for West Bengal's development," he said. 
India has one missile testing facility, known as the Integrated Test Range, which operates across two launch complexes in Odisha: Launch Complex-III at Chandipur-on-Sea and Launch Complex-IV, off Odisha coast. While Launch Complex-III is used primarily for testing short-range tactical missiles, surface-to-air systems and multi-barrel rocket launchers like the Akash and Pinaka, Launch Complex-IV is designated for long-range strategic weapon trials, including Agni ballistic missile series and K-series submarine-launched missiles.