NEW DELHI: Indian missile scientists achieved yet another milestone on Friday with the successful flight test of new generation Anti-Radiation Missile (RUDRAM) on to a radiation target located on Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha. The missile was launched from SU-30 MKI fighter aircraft.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) in its official statement said that the RUDRAM is the first indigenous anti-radiation missile of the country for Indian Air Force (IAF), being developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The missile is integrated on SU-30 MKI fighter aircraft as the launch platform and has the capability of varying ranges based on launch conditions.
“The missile can reach up to a range of 200 km, can achieve a maximum speed of 2 mach and can be fired from an altitude envelope of 500 meters to 15kms,” a source told The New Indian Express.
As per the MoD, the missile hit the radiation target with pin-point accuracy relying on Inertial Navigation System-GPS which is a more reliable system and has been used successfully by spaceships, submarines, aircraft and missiles.
It also has the Passive Homing Head for the final attack. The Passive Homing Head can detect, classify and engage targets over a wide band of frequencies as programmed.
The missile is a potent weapon for the IAF for Suppression of Enemy Air Defence effectively from large stand-off ranges, stated MoD and further added that with this launch, the country has established an indigenous capability to develop long-range air-launched anti-radiation missiles for neutralising enemy radars, communication sites and other RF emitting targets.
An air force officer said, “Once the enemy radars are destroyed, their air defence will collapse and thus provide a major edge to destroy the additional enemy targets with such missiles.”