This launch and demonstration is important for establishing anti-submarine warfare capabilities, according to a defense statement. (Credits: ANI)
SMART is a missile-assisted launch of a lightweight anti-submarine torpedo system for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations far beyond the range of torpedoes.
- PTI Balasore, Odisha
- Last update: October 5, 2020 4:31 PM IST
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On Monday, India successfully flight tested its locally developed Supersonic Missile Assisted Torpedo Launch (SMART) from a test range off the coast of Odisha, defense sources said. The trial, conducted at 11:45 am from APJ AbdulKalam Island, formerly known as Wheeler Island, met all objectives perfectly, sources said.
SMART is a missile-assisted launch of a lightweight anti-submarine torpedo system for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations far beyond the range of torpedoes. This launch and demonstration is important for establishing anti-submarine warfare capabilities, according to a defense statement. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated scientists at the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) for the feat that marks a breakthrough in fighting capabilities in anti-submarine warfare, a DRDO official said.
SMART’s flight test follows the successful test launch on Saturday of its domestically developed hypersonic missile ‘Shaurya’ with an attack range of around 1,000 km from the test range. “All (SMART) mission objectives, including missile flight to range and altitude, nose cone separation, torpedo launch, and deployment of the speed reduction mechanism (VRM) have been met. perfectly, the statement said.
Tracking stations, including radars and electro-optical systems along the shoreline, and telemetry stations, including lower-ranking ships, monitored all events. Several Defense Research and Development (DRDO) labs, including DRDL, RCI Hyderabad, ADRDE Agra and STL Visakhapatnam, have developed the technologies needed for SMART, the sources said.
Defense R&D Secretary and DRDO President Dr. G Satheesh Reddy said SMART is a demonstration of revolutionary technology in anti-submarine warfare. The test encompasses hybrid technology that helps upgrade the current system and also increases attack range, the defense statement said.
SMART when launched from a warship or truck-based coastal battery, it takes off like a normal supersonic missile. Covers most of your flight in the air at lower altitudes with a bi-directional data link from the warship or an airborne submarine target detection system and provides the exact location of the hostile submarine to correct its flight path half way, he said.
Just when it gets close enough to the submerged submarine, the missile will launch the torpedo system into the water and the autonomous torpedo will begin moving towards its target to take out the sub, he added.
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