India fires vertical launch Surface-to-Air missile

India’s Defence Research and Development flight tested the Vertical Launch Short Range Surface to Air Missile.

India’s Ministry of Defence revealed that the surface-to-air missile was launched from a “vertical launcher against an electronic target at a very low altitude,” validating the integrated functioning of all the weapon’s components, including the launcher, canisterised flight vehicle, and weapon control system. It was the second test of the ship-launched missile.

“The flight path of the vehicle along with health parameters were monitored using a number of tracking instruments deployed by ITR, Chandipur. All sub-systems performed as per expectation,” the ministry wrote.

With a range of 15 km (9.3 miles), the indigenously-developed missile is designed to neutralize close-range aerial threats, including hard-to-detect sea-skimming missiles. The weapon is equipped with an active high-end radio frequency seeker to detect highly maneuverable targets with low radar cross-sections.