India made another significant leap in missile development on Friday when the Indian Navy conducted a Vertical Launch Short Range Surface to Air Missile (VL-SRSAM) flight test successfully under the supervision of the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO).
The launch was carried out from a frontline warship of the Indian Navy at Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha state. This was the third consecutive test in the span of two years of VL-SRSAM. To date, all of the trials have been successful.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh shared photos of the launch on Twitter.
The VL-SRSAM is designed and developed by DRDO to be manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL). Developed as a quick reactive system, VL-SRSAM is a ship-borne weapon system designed in line with modern surface-to-air-missile (SAMs) for neutralizing various aerial threats at close ranges, including sea-skimming targets. VL-SRSAM is the outcome of years of study and expertise that India has acquired from developed defense systems, especially Barak-8.
The recent launch of the system was conducted against a high-speed aerial target mimicking a maneuvering aircraft, which it successfully engaged. The missile attained lethality at its intended parameters, clearing the way for future development.
The missile followed the flight path from boost phase to terminal phase using onboard tracking and navigating systems following the trajectory of the target as planned. The entire missile course was checked under detailed parameters and also monitored by using a number of tracking instruments deployed by ITR, Chandipur. The test launch was monitored by senior officials from DRDO & the Indian Navy.
VL-SRSAM will complement Barak-8 in the Indian Navy and eventually will replace the Barak-1 system aboard Indian warships.
