India bore witness to two successful flight tests of the Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) missile on Tuesday. It was carried out by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.
A video shared by news agency ANI on Twitter showed the victorious flight test.
“Flight test of DRDO-developed ‘Very Short Range Air Defence System’ conducted off the coast of Odisha,” ANI wrote.
#WATCH | Flight test of DRDO-developed ‘Very Short Range Air Defence System’ conducted off the coast of Odisha. pic.twitter.com/mtnDoMaw2O
— ANI (@ANI) March 14, 2023
According to a statement from the defence ministry, the tests were conducted out from a ground-based man-portable launcher against high-speed unmanned aerial targets, mimicking approaching and receding aircraft. The targets were successfully intercepted, meeting all mission objectives.
Earlier on Tuesday, the DRDO completed the maiden flight test of Power Take off (PTO) shaft with LCA Tejas.
VSHORADS, designed and developed indigenously by Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and Indian Industry Partners, is a man-portable air defence system that can neutralise low altitude aerial threats at short ranges. The missile incorporates many novel technologies including Dual-band IIR Seeker, a miniaturised Reaction Control System and integrated avionics.
Lauding the success, defence minister Rajnath Singh announced that VSHORADS will be a technological shot in the arm for the Armed Forces.
Dr. Samir V Kamat, secretary, department of defence R&D and chairman DRDO, also appreciated the people behind the back-to-back successful flight tests.
The tests come two months after the defence acquisition council (DAC) set the ball rolling to buy the VSHORADS. DRDO has tested the weapon earlier too.
Source- Hindustan Times.
