The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test fired a Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) from a defence base off Odisha coast on Friday. The homegrown canister-based high-speed weapon system, which can deceive enemy radars making it difficult to be detected, is capable of destroying aerial targets, tanks, bunkers and short range missiles.
The short-range weapon system was fired from a canister mounted on a rotatable truck-based launch platform at the Launching Complex-I (LC-I) of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea at about 2.30 pm.
Defence sources said the trial was conducted to check various parameters in its subsystems and performance of advanced software. It was third test of the newly developed missile, which is yet to get a formal name, and all three have been successful this year.
“All subsystems incorporated in the missile have performed well. Though no target was set for the missile, it covered the entire range as coordinated. The mission was successful and it proved complete indigenisation of surface-to-air systems,” said a defence official.
It is a highly mobile air defence system which can destroy multiple targets at a distance of 25 km in less than one minute. Considered to be a unique system in its class, the missile is expected to supplement medium range surface-to-air missile Akash.
Since QRSAM is a much better system in terms of performance and lethality, India is more keen on developing high maneuverable and multi-role missiles, which will have 100 per cent kill probability.
It is an all-weather and all-terrain missile having electronic counter measures against all known aircraft jammers.
The state-of-the-art missile that uses high-energy solid propellant will have to go through a couple of more development flight trials before going into user phase tests, the sources added.
