DRDO and Navy fire first salvo of 2 anti-ship missiles from helicopters off Odisha coast

New Delhi: To enhance the anti-ship warfare capabilities of the Indian Navy, the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO)defense research and development organization) and the Navy on Wednesday successfully launched a Naval Short-Range Anti-Ship Missile (NASM-SR) from a helicopter platform in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Odisha. The Defense Ministry said that during the test, two missiles were fired in rapid succession from the same helicopter, marking the first salvo of the Advanced Air-Launched Anti-Ship Missile System.NASM-SR is India’s first indigenous air-launched anti-ship missile. It has advanced low-altitude sea skimming capabilities, a range of 55 kilometers, and supports fire-and-forget operations in all-weather conditions.The ministry said that all test objectives were fully achieved based on data captured by various ranging and tracking instruments such as radar, electro-optical systems and telemetry deployed at the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur. In addition to demonstrating salvo launch capability, the missile also demonstrated waterline strike capability (the ability to accurately strike target ships at or just below the waterline).Defense Minister Rajnath Singh praised the DRDO, Navy, Indian Air Force and industry for the successful launch, saying “the development of this missile will further enhance the capabilities of the defense forces”.The test launch was witnessed by senior scientists of DRDO, representatives of Navy and IAF, and development and production partners.