NEW DELHI: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Navy have successfully completed flight trials of a groundbreaking naval anti-ship missile (NASM-SR) featuring ‘Man-in-Loop’ capabilities, allowing for in-flight retargeting.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh extended his congratulations to DRDO, the Indian Navy, and industry partners for the successful flight tests conducted at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur on Tuesday. The trials showcased the missile’s effectiveness against maritime targets when launched from a naval helicopter.
According to the defence ministry, “The missile utilizes an indigenous imaging infra-red seeker for terminal guidance. The mission also successfully demonstrated a high-bandwidth two-way datalink system, which transmits live images from the seeker back to the pilot for in-flight retargeting.”
The missile was fired in ‘Bearing-only Lock-on’ mode post-launch, with multiple targets nearby to enable selection among them. The trials validated the missile’s ‘Man-in-Loop’ feature, achieving a direct hit on a small ship target while in sea-skimming mode at its maximum range, as stated by the ministry.
