The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully on Saturday conducted successive flight-trials of the Very Short-Range Air Defence System (VSHORAD) system from Chandipur off the coast of Odisha. The tests were carried out against high-speed targets flying at a very low altitude.
“During all three flight tests, the missiles intercepted and completely destroyed the targets, having reduced thermal signature mimicking low flying drones at different flying conditions. The flight tests were carried out in final deployment configuration wherein two field operators carried out weapon readiness, target acquisition and missile firing,” DRDO said in a statement.
Indigenously developed, VSHORADS is a Man Portable Air Defence System designed to meet the needs of Armed Forces. “Tested in final deployment configuration, two operators handled target acquisition & missile firing, showcasing its battlefield readiness. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hailed this as a major success for self-reliant defence,” the Ministry of Defence said in a post on X.
All about the Very Short-Range Air Defence System:
The flight data captured by various range instruments like Telemetry, Electro-Optical Tracking System and Radar deployed by Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, confirmed the pin-point accuracy and established the unique capability of VSHORADS missile system in neutralizing drones along with other classes of aerial threats. The flight-tests were witnessed by senior officials of DRDO, Armed Forces and development and production partners.
The system is developed by Research Center Imarat in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and Development cum Production Partners. The missile system has the capability to meet the needs of all the three branches of the Armed Forces, including the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.
Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat also congratulated the entire DRDO team, users and the industry partners.