BHUBANESWAR: India on Tuesday conducted a crucial developmental trial of indigenously built Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) with a live warhead from a defence facility off Odisha coast fast-tracking the induction of the weapon system in the armed forces.
Developed by DRDO, the missile was test-fired using a live warhead for the first time against the high performance unmanned aerial target Banshee that mimicked an enemy aircraft. The weapon destroyed the expendable target with precision.
A defence official said the radars located the target from a long range and tracked it till the mission computer automatically launched the missile. Continuous guidance was provided through radar data link. The missile entered the terminal active homing guidance and reached the target close enough for proximity operation of warhead activation, he said.
This was the second trial of the missile from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in the last five days. On November 13, the missile travelling at a high speed had hit pilotless target aircraft Banshee mid air at medium range and medium altitude. The launch was carried out in the presence of Indian Army officials.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO for two back to back successful trials of QRSAM. “First test proved the radar and missile capabilities with direct hit. The missile demonstrated the warhead performance on proximity detection during the second test,” he said.
The missile was fired with full configuration in deployment mode. The entire event was monitored by ground telemetry systems, range radar systems and electro-optical tracking system, which verified the performance of the missile.
The QRSAM weapon system, which operates on the move, comprises of fully automated command and control system, active array battery surveillance radar, active array battery multifunction radar and launcher.
Both radars are four-walled having 360-degree coverage with search on move and track on move capability. The single stage solid propelled missile has midcourse inertial navigation system with two-way data link and terminal active seeker.
With a strike range of 30 km, the weapon system was fired from a canister mounted on a rotatable truck-based launch platform parked at the ITR launching complex at about 3.42 pm. Considered to be a unique system in its class, the missile is expected to supplement medium range surface-to-air missile Akash.
DRDO Chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy congratulated all the stakeholders who worked on the QRSAM project for the second successful flight test. The weapon system is expected to be inducted early next year.