Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated DRDO, Indian Navy and the industries for the successful flight tests. (ANI Photo)Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Navy carried out successful flight-trials of indigenously developed helicopter launcher Naval Anti-Ship missile Short Range (NASM-SR) from Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur off the coast of Odisha on Tuesday. The trials demonstrated the missile’s capability against ship targets while launched from the Indian Navy’s Seaking 42B Helicopter.The Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday that the trials have proven the missile’s Man-in-Loop feature which implies the role of a human operator in the decision-making process during the missile’s operation by intervening, controlling, or overriding automated systems in certain stages of flight. The indigenous missile primarily aims to replace another foreign origin anti-ship missile which has been in use by the Indian Navy for its Seaking helicopters.MoD has said that the missile scored a direct hit on a small ship target at its maximum range in sea-skimming mode which means flight of the missile very close to sea surface to primarily avoid detection. The missile uses an indigenously developed Imaging Infra-Red Seeker for terminal guidance. The mission also has demonstrated the high bandwidth two way data link system, which is used to transmit the seeker live images back to the pilot for in-flight retargeting.The missile was launched in Bearing-only Lock-on after launch mode with several targets in close vicinity for selecting one among them. A bearing-only lock-on implies that the missile is initially given just the broad direction of the target and not its specifics. “The missile initially locked on to a large target within a specified zone of search and during the terminal phase, the pilot selected a smaller hidden target resulting in its being hit with pinpoint accuracy,” read a press statement from the MoD.“The missile uses an indigenous Fiber Optic Gyroscope-based Inertial Navigation System and Radio Altimeter for its Mid-course guidance, an Integrated avionics module, Electro-Mechanical actuators for Aerodynamic and Jet vane control, thermal batteries and Printed Circuit Board warhead. It uses solid propulsion with an in-line ejectable booster and a long-burn sustainer. The trials have met all the mission objectives,” the statement read. The missile has a maximum range of a little over 50 km.The missile is developed by different labs of DRDO including Hyderabad based Research Centre Imarat and Defence Research and Development Laboratory, Pune based High Energy Materials Research Laboratory and Chandigarh based Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory. The missiles are currently being produced by development and production partners with the help of MSME’s, start-ups and other production partners. The maiden flight test of the missile was conducted in May 2022.Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated DRDO, Indian Navy and the industries for the successful flight tests. The tests for Man-in-Loop features is unique as it gives the capability of in-flight retargeting, the MoD press statement quoted Singh as saying. DRDO Chairman DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat also congratulated the entire DRDO team, users and the industry partners. Sushant Kulkarni is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express in Pune with 12+ years of experience covering issues related to Crime, Defence, Internal Security and Courts. He has been associated with the Indian Express since July 2010. Sushant has extensively reported on law and order issues of Pune and surrounding area, Cyber crime, narcotics trade and terrorism. His coverage in the Defence beat includes operational aspects of the three services, the defence research and development and issues related to key defence establishments. He has covered several sensitive cases in the courts at Pune. Sushant is an avid photographer, plays harmonica and loves cooking. ... Read MoreClick here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:pune