Source : The Indian Express
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| QRSAM is a short-range Surface to Air Missile (SAM) system. (Source: PIB) |
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Army have successfully completed six flight tests of Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) system from Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, off the Odisha coast, as part of its evaluation trials, Union Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Thursday.
QRSAM is a short-range Surface to Air Missile (SAM) system, primarily designed and developed by the DRDO to provide a protective shield to the moving armoured columns of the Army from aerial attacks.
The six flight tests were carried out against high-speed aerial targets mimicking various types of threats to evaluate the capability of the weapon systems under different scenarios, including long-range medium-altitude, short-range, high-altitude-manoeuvring target, low radar signature with receding & crossing target and salvo launch with two missiles fired in quick succession, according to an MoD press statement. The system performance was also evaluated under day and night operation scenarios, the statement said.
“During these tests, all the mission objectives were met establishing pin-point accuracy of the weapon system with state-of-the-art guidance and control algorithms including warhead chain,” the statement said.
The performance of the system has been confirmed from the data captured by several range instruments like Telemetry, Radar and Electro Optical Tracking Systems (EOTS) deployed by ITR. Senior officials from the DRDO and the Indian Army participated in the launches, officials said.
These tests were conducted in the final deployment configuration consisting of all indigenously-developed sub-systems, including the missile with indigenous radio frequency (RF) seeker, mobile launcher, fully automated command and control system, surveillance and multi-function Radars. The uniqueness of the QRSAM weapon system is that it can operate on the move with search and track capability and fire on a short halt. This has been proven during the mobility trials conducted earlier.
The system has been jointly developed by the DRDO’s Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune; Research and Development Establishment (Engineers), Pune; Electronic and Radar Development Establishment, Bengaluru; Instruments Research and Development Establishment, Dehradun; and Missile Complex Laboratories from Hyderabad and Balasore.
