DRDO conducted the first salvo launch of ‘NASM-SR’ missile in Odisha

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Navy successfully carried out the first salvo launch of the Naval Anti-ship Missile-Short Range (NASM-SR) from a Sea King helicopter platform off the coast of the Bay of Bengal in Odisha.

During the test, two missiles were launched in quick succession from the same helicopter, making it the first salvo launch of an advanced air-launched anti-ship missile system.

According to data obtained using various range tracking instruments such as radars, electro-optical systems and telemetry deployed by the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, all test objectives were successfully achieved.

Along with demonstrating salvo launch capability, the missiles also showcased their ability to achieve a 'waterline hit'.

‘NASM-SR’ missile

It is India’s first indigenously developed helicopter-launched anti-ship missile.

It has been developed to replace the older British-origin 'Sea Eagle' missile currently used by the Navy’s Sea King helicopters.

The NASM-SR missile uses a solid propulsion booster and a long-burn sustainer.

All its critical subsystems—such as the seeker, integrated avionics module, fiber-optic gyroscope-based inertial navigation system, advanced navigation and guidance system using a radio altimeter, advanced control and guidance algorithms, high-bandwidth two-way data link and jet-vane control—have been indigenously developed by various DRDO laboratories and Indian industries.

It is powered by a solid-fuel system. It has a detachable booster for launch and a long-burn sustainer for flight.

Range and profile: It can strike targets at a distance of about 55 km. It flies at subsonic speed close to the sea surface to evade radar detection.

Manufacturer of ‘NASM-SR’ missile

This missile system has been developed by Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad, in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories such as Defence Research & Development Laboratory (Hyderabad), High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (Pune), Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (Chandigarh) and ITR (Chandipur).

The missiles are currently being produced by DcPP with support from other Indian industries and startups. It is mainly launched from Sea King helicopters, and there are plans to integrate it with MH-60R Seahawk and HAL Dhruv (ALH) platforms in the future.