The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test fired the Vertical Launch Short Range Surface-to-Air Missile (VL-SRSAM) for the second time on December 7, 2021 from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha. The launch was conducted from a vertical launcher against an electronic target at a very low altitude. A number of tracking instruments were deployed by the ITR, Chandipur to monitor the health parameters and the flight path of the vehicle.
The initial testing of VL-SRSAM was conducted earlier in February 2021. The second test launch was conducted to validate integrated operation of all weapon system components, including the vertical launcher unit with controller, canisterised flight vehicle, and the weapon control system. According to the Ministry of Defence, the successful testing of these systems was crucial for future launches of the missile from Indian Naval ships.
Vertical Launch Short Range Surface-to-Air Missile (VL-SRSAM)
The VL-SRSAM, to be deployed onboard Indian naval warships, has been designed and developed jointly by the three facilities of the DRDO: Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) and Research Centre Imarat (RCI), both from Hyderabad, and Research & Development Establishment (Engineers), Pune.
The VL-SRSAM is a canisterised system which is stored and operated from specially designed compartments. Inside the canister, the environment is kept controlled. Thus, the transport and storage of this missile is easier and it also improves the shelf-life of the weapons.
The VL-SRSAM has the capability of neutralising various aerial threats at close ranges including sea-skimming targets. The manoeuvre of sea skimming (i.e., a missile or aircraft flying as close as possible to sea surface) is used by anti-ship missiles and fighter jets to avoid being detected by the radars onboard warships.
The VL-SRSAM has been designed to strike at the high-speed airborne targets at the range of 40 to 50 km at an altitude of around 15 km. The weapon is equipped with an active high-end radio frequency seeker to detect highly manoeuvrable targets with low radar cross-sections. According to DRDO, the design of VL-SRSAM is based on Astra missile which is a beyond visual range air-to-air missile.
Two main features of VL-SRSAM include cruciform wings and thrust vectoring.
It has four cruciform wings, i.e., four small wings arranged like a cross on four sides. This gives the missile a projective and stable aerodynamic posture.
The thrust vectoring means the ability to change the direction of the thrust. It could change the direction of the thrust from its engine control, the angular velocity, and the altitude of the missile.
Testing of Missiles
All the missiles have to undergo tests in different conditions and configurations to be ready for deployment on board Indian naval ships. In naval warfare, a warship has to employ various defence mechanisms to protect itself from anti-ship missiles and adversary aircraft. Chaffs is an age-old method which is a countermeasure technology used worldwide to protect naval ships from enemy’s radar and radio frequency (RF) missile seekers. Another method is deploying missiles to counter anti-ship missiles. These systems require a swift detection mechanism, quick response, high speed, and high manoeuvrability. These are the qualities of VL-SRSAM. However, the missile would still have to undergo tests in different conditions and configurations to be ready for deployment on board Indian naval ships.
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