Giving a boost to self-reliance in niche missile technology, the Indian Navy in association with the Defence Research and Development (DRDO), on 18 May, successfully conducted the maiden test of an anti-ship missile. It was fired from a Seaking helicopter.
The indigenously developed air launched naval anti-ship missile test took place at the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha. The mission met all its objectives. The missile followed the desired sea skimming trajectory and reached the designated target with high degree of accuracy, validating the control, guidance and mission algorithms, officials later said. All sub-systems performed satisfactorily and the sensors deployed across the test range and near impact point tracked the missile trajectory and captured all events.
The missile employed many new technologies, including an indigenously developed launcher for the helicopter. The missile guidance system includes state-of-the-art navigation system and integrated avionics. The flight test was witnessed by senior officers of the DRDO and the Indian Navy.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO, Navy and associated teams for the maiden developmental flight test. He said India has attained a high level of capability in indigenous design and development of missile systems.
Chief of DRDO Satheesh Reddy said the system will strengthen offensive capability of Indian Navy. The Navy has been steadily enhancing its overall combat capability to effectively protect India’s maritime security interests, particularly in the Indian Ocean region.
The test-firing of the new missile came over a month after an anti-ship version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test-fired jointly by the Indian Navy and the Andaman and Nicobar Command.
The Navy is strengthening its operational capabilities and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday launched two frontline warships of the Indian Navy.
The ships — INS Surat and INS Udaygiri — were launched at the Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL) in Mumbai. INS Surat is the fourth guided-missile destroyer of the P15B class, while INS Udaygiri is the second stealth frigate of the P17A class.
