BHUBANESWAR: In a major technological breakthrough, India on Monday successfully tested the Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo (SMART) system for the first time from a defence facility off the Odisha coast.
Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), SMART is a missile assisted release of lightweight anti submarine torpedo system for Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) operations far beyond torpedo range. The launch demonstrated India’s anti submarine warfare capabilities.
Defence sources said the test was conducted from a ground based platform at the Abdul Kalam Island at about 11.45 am. All the mission objectives including missile flight upto the range and altitude, separation of the nose cone, release of torpedo and deployment of Velocity Reduction Mechanism (VRM) have been met perfectly.
All the tracking stations, radars, electro-optical systems along the coast and the telemetry stations including down range ships monitored the event. “SMART is a game changer technology demonstration in the anti submarine warfare. It is one of the important missile technologies India has developed in recent times,” DRDO Chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy said.
SMART is a hybrid missile that incorporates technologies of two different weapon systems making it faster and stealthier. With this, India has got an anti-submarine weapon having much higher range. While the long range torpedo available in the world is around 50 km and rocket-assisted torpedoes can strike at a range of 150 km, the SMART will have a range of over 600 km.
“Once fired, the weapon system will fly like a supersonic missile in the air at a low altitude and eject the torpedo into water after it comes closer to the target. The torpedo will then move towards the target and destroy it,” said a scientist associated with the project.
The technology required for SMART has been developed by a number of laboratories, including the Hyderabad-based Defence Research Development Laboratory (DRDL) and Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Agra-based Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) and Visakhapatnam-based Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL).
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated the DRDO scientists for the significant achievement. “This will be a major technology breakthrough for stand-off capability in anti-submarine warfare,” he said.