A flight test of a Vertical Launched Short Range Surface to Air Missile was carried out on Thursday by the Indian Navy and DRDO from Chandipur, off the Odisha coast. The flight test was undertaken from a land-based vertical launcher fitted with the prototype weapon system.
The Defence Ministry said the missile system had successfully tracked and engaged the target. "The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Navy today successfully conducted the flight test of Vertical Launch Short Range Surface-to-Air Missile (VL-SRSAM) from Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha," it said.
It said the test aimed at establishing a number of updated elements of the weapon system, including proximity fuse and seeker. "The trajectory of the missile was tracked by various instruments like the radar, electro-optical tracking system and telemetry deployed at ITR Chandipur," the ministry said in a statement.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO and Indian Navy teams for this achievement, while saying that this test reconfirms the reliability and efficacy of the VL-SRSAM weapon system. Samir V Kamat, Chairman, DRDO, also congratulated the teams involved while stating that the system will prove to be a game-changer for enhancing the operational capabilities of the Indian Navy and a force multiplier.
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