DRDO engages in back-to-back missile tests
Dr G Satheesh Reddy Chairman, DRDO
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ndia’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been carrying out a series of tests at short intervals recently. In fact, the premier defence research agency has conducted one test firing of a missile every three days since early September 2020. The missiles include a wide variety, ranging from the nuclear-capable Shaurya—a ground-launched variant of the submarine-launched B-05 ballistic missile—the air-launched Anti-Radiation Missile ‘Rudram’ and tactical missiles like laser-guided Anti-Tank Guided Missile. Among first in this series was the successful test of the Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle, which is a scramjet-powered cruise vehicle which achieved a velocity of nearly 2 km per second. The vehicle is envisaged as a test platform for a future range of
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DRDO Chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy has said that the rapid test-firing will enable India to achieve self-reliance in the field of missile systems. The country can produce whatever system or equipment required by the armed forces here itself, he said. Shaurya hypersonic missile, BrahMos extended-range missile, Prithvi nuclear-capable ballistic missile, Hypersonic missile technology development vehicle, Rudram-1 anti-radiation missile and the Supersonic Missile Assisted Release Torpedo weapon system were among the tests carried out. hypersonic cruise missiles. Soon, DRDO test-fired the Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo (SMART), which is a high-speed missile delivering a lightweight torpedo to attack enemy submarines over 600 km away. Yet another test involved the indigenously designed and developed cruise missile Nirbhay which has a range of 1,000 km. Test-fired from
the integrated test range on A P J Abdul Kalam island off Orissa coast, it was the seventh test of the landattack missile, and the first test using an indigenously built turbo-engine. According to top DRDO officials, the wide range of tests proved the organisation’s self-sufficiency in missile technology. Regarding the reason behind the frequent
tests, the officials said it related to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Most of the DRDO’s 52 laboratories were functioning during the lockdown imposed in view of the pandemic but several tests had to be deferred as the movement of personnel was restricted,” they explained. Yet another test involved the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with an indigenously
