New Delhi: India on Monday flight-tested the Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo (SMART) from a test range off Odisha coast. DRDO said that it will be a “game-changer” in anti-submarine warfare, marking yet another milestone in strengthening the country’s maritime strategic capabilities
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the success.
“The DRDO has successfully flight tested the Supersonic Missile assisted release of Torpedo, SMART. This will be a major technology breakthrough for stand-off capability in anti-submarine warfare. I congratulate DRDO and other stakeholders for this significant achievement,” Singh’s tweet read.
The @DRDO_India has successfully flight tested the Supersonic Missile assisted release of Torpedo, SMART. This will be a major technology breakthrough for stand-off capability in anti-submarine warfare. I congratulate DRDO and other stakeholders for this significant achievement.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) October 5, 2020
SMART is a missile assisted release of lightweight Anti-Submarine Torpedo System for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations for far beyond torpedo range. This launch and demonstration are significant in establishing ASW capabilities.
SMART when launched from a warship or a truck-based coastal battery, takes off like a regular supersonic missile. It covers most of its flight in the air at lower altitudes with two-way 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 midway.
Speaking about it, Chairman DRDO, Dr G Satheesh Reddy, said, “SMART is a game-changer technology demonstration in the ASW.”
The events of today were monitored by the tracking stations (Radars, Electro Optical Systems) along the coast and the telemetry stations including down range ships.
A number of DRDO laboratories, including DRDL, RCI Hyderabad, ADRDE Agra, NSTL Visakhapatnam, have developed the technologies required for SMART.
Earlier, this month DRDO had successfully tested Laser-Guided Anti Tank Guided Missile. The test was conducted from MBT Arjun at KK Ranges (ACC&S) Ahmednagar in continuation with the successful trials done on September 22.
