India on Monday conducted a successful flight test of the Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo (SMART) from Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha.
All mission objectives, including missile flight upto the range and altitude, separation of the nose cone, the release of Torpedo and deployment of Velocity Reduction Mechanism (VRM), were met perfectly in the flight test, the Press Information Bureau, the government’s nodal agency, noted in a release.
“The tracking stations (Radars, Electro Optical Systems) along the coast and telemetry stations including down range ships monitored all the events,” the release further noted.
Congratulating the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), defence minister Rajnath Singh tweeted, “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.”
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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.
Dr G Satheesh Reddy, chairman, DRDO, described SMART as a ‘game-changer’ technology demonstration in anti-submarine warfare.
Monday’s test comes after the DRDO successfully tested Laser-Guided Anti Tank Guided Missile on September 23 in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra.
