India test fires first home-made anti-radiation missile

India successfully test-fired ‘Rudram’, the anti-radiation missile, developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), at ITR, Balasore, off the east coast on Friday (October 9).

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted to extend his best wishes to DRDO and others who contributed to making the test launch a success.

The New Generation Anti-Radiation Missile (Rudram-1) which is India’s first indigenous anti-radiation missile developed by @DRDO_India for Indian Air Force was tested successfully today at ITR,Balasore. Congratulations to DRDO & other stakeholders for this remarkable achievement.

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) October 9, 2020

“The New Generation Anti-Radiation Missile (Rudram-1) which is India’s first indigenous anti-radiation missile developed by DRDO for Indian Air Force was tested successfully today at ITR, Balasore. Congratulations to DRDO and other stakeholders for this remarkable achievement,” the Defence Minister tweeted.

The indigenous missile is expected to create a surveillance gap in the enemy territory.

‘Rudram’ is India’s only indigenous anti-radiation missile, developed by DRDO, and is integrated on SU-30 MkI fighter aircraft, having the capability of varying ranges based on launch conditions.

“It has INS-GPS navigation with Passive Homing Head for the final attack. The RUDRAM hit the radiation target with pinpoint accuracy. The Passive Homing Head can detect, classify and engage targets over a wide band of frequencies as programmed,” DRDO’s official statement said.

“The missile is a potent weapon for the Indian Air Force for suppression of enemy air defence effectively from large standoff ranges,” the statement added.

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“With this, the country has established indigenous capability to develop long-range air-launched anti-radiation missiles for neutralising enemy radars, communication sites and other RF emitting targets,” the statement said.

Besides Sukhoi, the unique missile can be integrated with Mirage, Jaguar, Tejas and HAL Tejas Mark 2 fighter aircrafts in future. Currently, its primary test platform is Sukhoi Su-30MKI.

RUDRAM is a new-generation anti-radiation missile (NGARM) with a strike range of around 100 to 150 km. The single-stage missile weighs 140 kg and is powered by a dual-pulsed solid rocket motor.

Recently, India had tested the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV). The HSTDV will be developed as a carrier vehicle for hypersonic and long-range cruise missiles.