News Highlight
The indigenously developed Vertical Launch Short Range Surface-to-Air Missile (VL-SRSAM) was successfully flight tested by the Indian Navy and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Key Takeaway
- It is a ship-borne weapon system that is designed to neutralise numerous aerial threats at close range, including sea-skimming targets.
- The missiles are equipped with indigenous Radio Frequency (RF) seekers and highly accurate interceptors.
The VL-SRSAM
- About:
- It has been designed and developed jointly by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) facilities to deploy Indian naval warships.
- Capability:
- It has been designed to strike high-speed airborne targets at 40 to 50 km/h and an altitude of around 15 km.
- Carrying Capacity: Each Vertical Launch System (VLS) can hold forty missiles in a twin quad-pack.
- Maximum Speed: Mach 4.5
- Propulsion: Solid-propellant rocket
- Mass: 154 kg
- DRDO has said its design is based on the Astra missile, a Beyond Visual Range Air to Air missile.
- Features:
- Cruciform wings:
- The cruciform wings are four small wings arranged like a cross on four sides, giving the projective a stable aerodynamic posture.
- Thrust vectoring:
- Thrust vectoring is the ability to change the direction of the thrust from its engine to control the angular velocity and the missile’s attitude.
- Canisterised system
- VL-SRSAM is a canisterised system, which means it is stored and operated from specially designed compartments.
- In the canister, the inside environment is controlled, thus making its transport and storage easier and improving the shelf life of weapons.
- Significance:
- This success will further enhance the defence capability of Indian naval ships against aerial threats.
Surface to Air Missile
- A surface-to-air missile (SAM) or ground-to-air missile (GTAM) is designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles.
Other Surface to Air Missile
Pic Courtesy: India TV News
Content Source: The Hindu