DRDO and the Indian Navy successfully test the VL-SRSAM

The missile was fired from a ship belonging to the Indian Navy and it precisely shot down a high-speed unmanned target.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Indian Navy tested the Vertical Launched Short Range Surface to Air Missile from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur off the coast of Odhisa.

The missile was fired from a ship belonging to the Indian Navy and it precisely shot down a high-speed unmanned target.

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The VL-SRSAM is an indigenously designed short-range surface-to-air missile equipped with an indigenous radio frequency seeker.

This missile is being developed for the ships of the Indian Navy to intercept sea-skimming anti-ship cruise missiles. Sea skimming is a technique or manoeuvre used by cruise missiles or fighter jets to avoid radar detection by flying at low altitudes.

The VL-SRSAM has a range of 40 to 50 km to strike high-speed targets at an altitude of 15km. its design is inspired by the indigenous Astra beyond visual range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) used by the Indian Air Force on their Su30 MKI jets.

Two significant features of the VL-SRSAM are cruciform wings and thrust vectoring. The cruciform wings are four small wings arranged like a cross on four sides, giving the projective a stable aerodynamic posture. Thrust vectoring is the ability to change the direction of the thrust from its engine to control the angular velocity and the attitude of the missile

During the test launch of the missile, the flight path and the performance were analysed like the flight data. This was done with the aid of a Radar Electro-Optical tracking system (EOTS) and Telemetry systems placed at the ITR.

The previous test was conducted on 7th December 2021 from a land-based canister launcher meanwhile this test was carried out by a ship belonging to the Navy.