DRDO, Indian Navy flight test anti-ship missile

The Naval Anti-Ship missile uses an indigenous fiber optic gyroscope-based inertial navigation system and radio altimeter for its mid-course guidance. Photo: X/@DRDO_India

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Navy carried out successful flight-trials of a Naval Anti-Ship missile (NASM-SR) from Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur. The trials, carried out on Tuesday, demonstrated the missile’s capability against ship targets while launched from an Indian Naval Seaking Helicopter.

“The trials have proven the missile’s Man-in-Loop feature and scored a direct hit on a small ship target in sea-skimming mode at its maximum range. The missile uses an Indigenous Imaging Infra-Red Seeker for terminal guidance,” DRDO said in a statement on Wednesday. The mission also has demonstrated the high bandwidth two way datalink system, which is used to transmit the seeker live images back to the pilot for in-flight retargeting, it stated.

Elaborating further, the statement said that the missile was launched in bearing-only lock-on after launch mode with several targets in close vicinity for selecting one among them. The missile initially locked on to a large target within a specified zone of search and during the terminal phase, the pilot selected a smaller hidden target resulting in it being hit with pinpoint accuracy, it explained.

The missile uses an indigenous fiber optic gyroscope-based inertial navigation system and radio altimeter for its mid-course guidance, an integrated avionics module, electro-mechanical actuators for aerodynamic and jet vane control, thermal batteries and PCB warhead, DRDO said. “It uses solid propulsion with an in-line ejectable booster and a long-burn sustainer. The trials have met all the mission objectives.”

The missiles are currently being produced by development cum production partners with the help of Micro, Medium and Small enterprises, start-ups and other production partners, DRDO added.

Congratulating all stakeholders on the successful tests, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the tests for man-in-Loop features is unique as it gives the capability of in flight retargeting.