Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Jun 3: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Air Force (IAF) have successfully conducted flight tests of the indigenously developed RudraM-II air-to-surface missile from an airborne platform, the Ministry of Defence announced on Tuesday.
According to the ministry, the missile was tested under extreme release conditions and followed a critical flight trajectory that validated the performance and capability of all onboard subsystems. After launch, the missile was guided to a pre-defined target with pinpoint accuracy.
“All test objectives were fully met as confirmed by the flight data captured by various range instruments deployed by the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur,” the ministry said in a statement.
RudraM-II has been developed by Research Centre Imarat as the lead laboratory in collaboration with several other DRDO facilities, including the Defence Research and Development Laboratory, High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Armament Research and Development Establishment and the Integrated Test Range.
The programme also received support from development-cum-production partners, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, the Regional Centre for Military Airworthiness, the Missile System Quality Assurance Agency and other industry stakeholders.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO, IAF, defence public sector undertakings and industry partners on the successful test. He said the achievement reflected the growing maturity of indigenous defence technologies and would strengthen the country's drive towards Aatmanirbharta in advanced weapon systems.
Samir V Kamat, Secretary of the Department of Defence Research and Development and Chairman of DRDO, also congratulated the teams involved in the programme.
RudraM-II is regarded as a major boost to India's air combat capabilities. The missile is capable of travelling at speeds of up to Mach 5.5, striking targets at ranges of around 300 km and carrying a 200-kg warhead.
It can be launched from fighter aircraft such as the Sukhoi Su-30MKI at altitudes ranging from 3 km to 15 km.
The missile is expected to significantly enhance the Indian Air Force's operational capabilities and gradually replace the ageing Russian-origin Kh-31 missiles currently in service.
RudraM-II features an advanced hybrid guidance system that combines an Inertial Navigation System (INS), GPS-based navigation and a sophisticated passive homing seeker. The system can detect and track radio-frequency emissions across a wide spectrum, enabling highly accurate strikes against enemy radar installations and air-defence systems.