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Capable of neutralising various aerial threats, Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight-tested Vertical Launch Surface to Air Missile (VL-SRSAM) from an Indian Naval Ship (INS) at Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.
The short-range VL-SRSAM missile is a ship borne weapon system, which is meant for neutralising various aerial threats at close ranges including sea-skimming targets.
Congratulations to DRDO, Indian Navy & the industry for the successful flight test of Vertical Launch Short Range Surface to Air Missile off the coast of Chandipur, Odisha. This success will further enhance the defence capability of Indian Naval Ships against the aerial threats. pic.twitter.com/ltkUyhm0iR
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 24, 2022
“This success will further enhance the defence capability of Indian Naval Ships against the aerial threats,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted while congratulating DRDO and the Indian Navy.
It is noteworthy that the missile launch was conducted against a high speed aerial target mimicking aircraft, which was successfully engaged. Further, the flight path of the vehicle along with health parameters were monitored by senior officials from DRDO & Indian Navy using a number of tracking instruments deployed by launch site.
Deciphering VL-SRSAM
Designed and developed jointly by DRDO’s three facilities for deployment in the Indian Naval warships, the missile has the capability of eliminating numerous aerial threats including sea-skimming targets.
Notably, the tactic of sea skimming is used by various anti-ship missiles and some fighter jets to avoid being detected by the radars onboard warships. For this, these assets fly as close as possible to sea surface and thus are difficult to detect and get eliminated.
Coming to the firepower, the missile can strike at the high-speed airborne targets at the range of 40 to 50 km and at an altitude of around 15 km.
Salient features
Importantly, the two key features of the VL-SRSAM are cruciform wings and thrust vectoring. The cruciform wings consist of four small wings arranged like a cross on four sides and give the projective a stable aerodynamic posture. The thrust vectoring is an ability to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine control.
It is important to note that a warship has to employ numerous defence mechanisms to protect itself from anti-ship missiles and adversary aircrafts.
One of the age-old methods is chaffs, which is a countermeasure technology used worldwide to protect naval ships from enemy’s radar and Radio Frequency (RF) missile seekers. The second method includes the deployment of missiles to counter Anti Ship missiles.
These systems have to have a swift detection mechanism, high speed, quick response, and high manoeuvrability and VL-SRSAM claims to have all these qualities.