BHUBANESWAR: The Defence and Research Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully flight tested the Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) from a fighter aircraft of Indian Air Force (IAF).
Defence sources said the captive and release trials of the weapon from Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft were tracked by Radar and Telemetry ground stations at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) during the entire duration of the flight.
The tests were conducted on Friday to evaluate the performance of the weapon’s subsystems and aerodynamics. ‘’The performance of all systems was satisfactory as they achieved all the mission objectives,’’ a defence release stated on Saturday.
Indigenously developed by DRDO, SAAW, which weighs around 125 kg, is capable of engaging ground targets with high precision. The light weight weapon is one of the world-class weapon systems and has been designed to intercept targets up to 100 km. This precision guided air-to-surface weapon can be integrated with Rafale, Jaguar and Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft. Jaguar can carry six such weapons and destroy enemy air field forcing the fighter jets to be kept inside the hangars. Specially designed for the IAF, the SAAW, which has deep penetration capabilities, can also destroy bunkers of enemy apart from the concrete runways.
Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister and Director General (Missile and Strategic Systems) Dr G Satheesh Reddy lauded the scientific community of DRDO for its efforts towards the design and development of the state-of-the-art smart weapon within the set time frame.
DRDO Chairman Dr S Christopher also congratulated the DRDO and the IAF teams for the successful mission.
The DRDO had conducted the first test of the weapon system from Jaguar aircraft in Bengaluru in May. The test was carried out by IAF’s Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE).