NASM-SR will replace Sea Eagle missiles
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 indigenous Naval Anti-Ship Missile (Short Range) or NASM-SR. 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 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.
What is the NASM-SR?
The NASM-SR has been developed by the DRDO. The first time its development was revealed to the general public was in 2018 when then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a reference to it in Parliament. Later, it was also part of the display at the 2020 Defence Exposition held in Lucknow.
The NASM-SR has a range of 55 km and weighs 385 kg. This missile will replace the Sea Eagle missiles which are currently in use with the Navy.
While the specifications list only the Sea King helicopter as the launch platform for the new missile, it may also be integrated with the MH-60R helicopters that will join the Indian Navy over the next few years.
The Indian Navy is not new to helicopter-launched anti-ship missiles. It had equipped its Sea King helicopters with the British-built Sea Eagle missiles in the 1980s. The Sea Eagle had a range of around 100km and weight of around 600kg and used a radar seeker. The heavier weight of the missile would increase the take-off weight of the Sea King helicopter, reducing its range in flight. In comparison, the NASM-SR imposes a lower weight penalty on the Sea King and similar helicopters.
Technical Aspects
The lighter warhead of the NASM-SR is capable of doing significant damage. The NASM-SR carries a warhead of 100 kg and has sub-sonic capabilities, which means that it flies below the speed of sound at 0.8 Mach. The sub-sonic flight speed makes it difficult for the naval vessels on target to detect it.
The use of an IIR seeker means the NASM-SR is impervious to radar jamming by enemy warships and also less likely to be detected on approach as it is not using a radar to track its target.
It has a launch altitude of maximum of 3 km and can skim 5 metres above sea level when on final approach to the target. The NASM-SR can also be fired from the shore to target vessels in the sea.
This kind of land-based missile launch capability was shown by the Ukrainian military recently when they used a anti-ship cruise missile to sink the Russian ship Moskva.
The Moskva sinking in the Black Sea and the loss of British warships in the Falklands War of 1982 show that modern navy ships have enough flammable material on board (fuel, wiring, weapons, electronics etc.) that can exacerbate the damage done by even small anti-ship missiles.
