DRDO announces completion of development trials of man-portable air defence system

The tests were carried out, on October 3 and 4, against high speed targets, demonstrating very critical parameters of maximum range and altitude interception

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Saturday announced the completion of the development trials of the ingeniously developed 4th Generation miniaturised Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORAD) after three successful consecutive flight tests at Pokhran Field Firing Ranges in Rajasthan.

The VSHORAD is a critical requirement for the Indian Army which has attempted to replace the legacy Igla systems for sometime but the efforts didn’t make progress. In recent years, Army procured small volumes of Igla-S under emergency procurement.

“The development of VSHORADS missiles has been completed and two production agencies have been engaged in the Development cum Production Partner (DcPP) mode. In these trials, the missiles realised through DcPPs have been successfully used, thus paving the way for early User trials and Production in a short time span…,” DRDO said in a statement.

The tests were carried out, on October 3 and 4, against high speed targets, demonstrating very critical parameters of maximum range and altitude interception, it stated. “These development trials showcased repeatability of hit-to-kill capability of the weapon system in various target engagement scenarios covering approaching, receding and crossing modes.”

The VSHORAD is a man portable air defence system designed and developed by Research Centre Imarat (RCI) in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and DcPPs. The three Services have been associated with the project right from the beginning and participated during the developmental trials, DRDO stated.

Published - October 05, 2024 08:08 pm IST