Express News Service
BHUBANESWAR: India successfully test-fired the Army version of Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) from a defence facility off the Odisha coast on Sunday demonstrating the system’s high killing efficiency.
The state-of-the-art missile was flight tested in full operational configuration from the launching complex – III of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur at about 10.30 am. The missile intercepted an unmanned aerial vehicle achieving a ‘direct hit’.
The network-centric and most advanced sleek missile has been developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in collaboration with public and private sector enterprises.
This was the second developmental trial of the missile and the system was tested in the same envelope as of the maiden trial, but for a long-range.
A defence official said the MRSAM-Army system destroyed a high-speed aerial target that mimicked an attacking combat aircraft at a long-range. The missile directly hit the target demonstrating its high accuracy, he said.
The test was conducted in the presence of Army officials. All mission parameters were successfully met and Indian missile components validated, he added.
With a strike range of nearly 100 km, the 4.5-meter long supersonic quick reaction missile weighs around 2.7 tonnes and can carry a payload of 60 kg.
Each MRSAM unit comprises one command and control system, multi-functional surveillance tracking radar, threat alert radar, mobile launcher, combat management system, mobile power and radar power systems apart from the missile.
The next-generation weapon system has been developed with cutting-edge technology to neutralise airborne threats like jets, subsonic and supersonic cruise missiles, anti-tank systems and rockets.
The air version of the MRSAM system has already been handed over to Indian Air Force (IAF). The missile is designed to provide point and area air defence for ground assets against a wide range of threats.
Travelling at a speed of Mach 2, it can achieve high degrees of maneuverability at the terminal phase. One more round test of the missile is expected from the same range in the afternoon, the sources informed.