DRDO, Navy successfully test VL-SRSAM
Sea skimming is the technique where anti-ship missiles and some fighter jets fly as close as possible to the sea surface
New Delhi: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Navy on Tuesday successfully flight tested quick reaction Vertical Launch Short Range Surface-to-Air Missile (VL-SRSAM) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.
VL-SRSAM, designed and developed indigenously is ship-borne weapon system, to neutralise various aerial threats at close ranges, including sea-skimming targets.
Sea skimming is the technique where anti-ship missiles and some fighter jets fly as close as possible to the sea surface to avoid radar and infrared detection. VL-SRSAM is likely to replace Barak-I surface-to-air missile deployed on Indian naval warships.
“The flight test was carried out from an Indian Naval Ship against a high-speed unmanned aerial target for demonstration of vertical launch capability. The missiles, equipped with indigenous Radio Frequency (RF) seeker, intercepted the target with high accuracy,” said a defence ministry statement.
During the test launch, flight path and vehicle performance parameters were monitored using flight data, captured by various range instruments such as Radar, Electro-optical tracking system (EOTS) and Telemetry systems deployed by ITR, Chandipur. The launch was monitored by senior scientists from various DRDO labs involved in the design and development of the system such as DRDL, Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad and R&D Engineers, Pune.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh has complimented DRDO, Indian Navy and associated teams on the successful flight trial of VL-SRSAM and stated that the missile will prove to be a force multiplier for the Indian Navy.
G. Satheesh Reddy, secretary, department of defence R&D and chairman of DRDO congratulated the teams involved in the successful flight test and said that the trial has proved the effectiveness of the weapon system. “It will further strengthen the Indian Navy for neutralising various aerial threats at close ranges including sea-skimming targets,” said Reddy.