iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
The DRDO conducted two successful test flights of a very short-range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) missile on Tuesday, 27 September 2022, from a ground-based portable launcher at the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha.
VSHORADS is a Man Portable Air Defence System (MANPAD) designed and developed indigenously by DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and Indian industry partners.
VSHORADS missile incorporates many novel technologies including a miniaturized Reaction Control System (RCS) and integrated avionics, which have been successfully proven during the tests. The missile, meant for neutralizing low-altitude aerial threats at short ranges is propelled by a dual thrust solid motor. The design of the missile including the launcher has been highly optimized to ensure easy portability. Both the flight tests on Tuesday met the mission objectives.
Defense minister, Rajnath Singh, complimented and appreciated the efforts of DRDO and industry partners. He said that this new missile equipped with modern technologies will give a further technological boost to the Armed Forces. Secretary DDR&D and Chairman DRDO congratulated the entire VSHORADS team for this tremendous success.
Earlier this month the DRDO and Indian Army successfully completed six flight tests of the Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) system from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) Chandipur, off the Odisha coast. The flight tests were conducted as part of evaluation trials by the Indian Army.
The flight tests were carried out against high-speed aerial targets mimicking various types of threats to evaluate the capability of the weapon systems under different scenarios, including long-range medium altitude, short range, high altitude maneuvering targets, low radar signature with receding & crossing targets, and salvo launch with two missiles fired in quick succession. The system performance was also evaluated under day and night operation scenarios.
“During these tests, all the mission objectives were met, establishing pin-point accuracy of the weapon system with state-of-the-art guidance and control algorithms including the warhead chain. The performance of the system has been confirmed from the data captured by a number of Range instruments like Telemetry, Radar, and Electro-Optical Tracking Systems (EOTS) deployed by ITR,” said the Ministry of Defense in a statement.
These tests were conducted in the final deployment configuration consisting of all indigenously-developed sub-systems, including the missile with indigenous Radio Frequency (RF) seeker, mobile launcher, fully automated command and control system, surveillance, and multi-function Radars. The QRSAM weapon system can operate on the move with search and track capability & fire on short halt.
Singh had said that the QRSAM weapon system will be an excellent force multiplier for the Armed Forces. Secretary, Department of Defence R&D, and Chairman DRDO said that the system is now ready for induction into the Indian Army.
