BHUBANESWAR: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Tuesday, December 7, 2021, successfully flight tested Vertical Launch Short Range Surface to Air Missile (VL-SRSAM) from a defence test facility off Odisha coast paving way for its integration with Indian Navy’s warships.
The indigenously developed missile was test fired from a static vertical launcher positioned at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in the afternoon. Launched from a canister, the missile, which is yet to get a formal name, intercepted an electronic target at a very low altitude.
A defence official said the launch of the new next generation all-weather air defence missile was conducted to validate integrated operation of all weapon system components and it met all mission parameters.
“The vertical launcher unit with controller, canisterised flight vehicle and weapon control system required for future launches of the missile from Indian Naval ships were tested during the mission,” he said. This was third launch of the missile and monitored by senior officials from DRDO and Indian Navy. The missile was first tested for both minimum and maximum ranges in twin trials in February this year.
The flight path of the vehicle along with health parameters were monitored using a number of tracking instruments deployed by the ITR at Chandipur. All sub-systems performed as expected. DRDO Chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy said this was a confirmatory trial to prove the consistent performance of the configuration and integrated operation. Complimenting the teams involved in the mission, he said the successful trial has paved the way for integration of the weapon system on board Indian naval ships.
Designed and developed by DRDO for Indian Navy, the missile is capable of neutralising various aerial threats at close ranges including sea skimming targets. The system can provide point and area defence against various aerial targets like jets, fighter aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles. With high kill probability, it can identify, track, engage and destroy targets at a range up to 40 km.
Congratulating DRDO and the Indian Navy for the feat, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the system will further enhance defence capability of Indian naval ships against aerial threats.