A Vertical Launch Short Range Surface-to-Air Missile (VL-SRSAM) was flight tested Tuesday from a Indian Naval ship, hitting a high-speed unmanned aerial target to demonstrate increased defence capabilities of the Navy.
The missiles, equipped with indigenous Radio Frequency (RF) seeker, intercepted the target with high accuracy at the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha, said the defence ministry. The VL-SRSAM system has been indigenously designed and developed by the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO).
"During the test launch, flight path and vehicle performance parameters were monitored using the flight data captured by various range instruments such as Radar, Electro-optical tracking system (EOTS) and Telemetry systems deployed by ITR, Chandipur," stated the ministry. The launch was monitored by senior scientists from various DRDO labs involved in the design and development of the system such as Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad and R&D Engineers, Pune.
The ministry had earlier stated that the missiles are capable of striking high-speed airborne targets at the range of 40 to 50 km, and at an altitude of around 15 km.
Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, complimented the DRDO, Indian Navy and associated teams on the successful flight trial of VL-SRSAM. The missile will prove to be a force multiplier for the Indian Navy, Singh, as per the defence ministry. The missile was flight tested in June as well.