Successful Flight Test of Indigenous Very Short-Range Air Defence System; Will Strengthen Army’s Air Defence

DRDO conducting successful flight tests of the Very Short-Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) missile on Feb 28. (Image: DRDO)

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted two successful flight tests of the Very Short-Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) missile on Feb 28 7 29, 2024.

These were launched from a ground based portable launcher off the coast of Odisha from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur. These tests were carried out against high speed unmanned aerial targets under different interception scenarios.

According to an official statement issued by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) during all the test flights, the targets were intercepted and destroyed by the missiles, meeting the mission objectives.

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About VSHORADS

VSHORADS stands for Very Short-Range Air Defence System. It’s a type of missile that soldiers can carry and use to shoot down enemy aircraft. It has been developed indigenously by Research Centre Imarat (RCI) in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and Indian Industry Partners.

This missile has new technology that makes it smaller and easier to control. This missile incorporates many novel technologies including miniaturized Reaction Control System (RCS) and integrated avionics which have been successfully proven during the tests.

The missile gets its power from a strong motor and is made to shoot down planes flying close to the ground over short distances. The way it is designed makes it easy for soldiers to carry around.

Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, praised the team that made the missile and the soldiers who tested it. He said that this new weapon, with its modern technology, will make the Indian military even stronger.

Also ReadIndian Army to get Russian VSHORAD missile system for air defence – Business News | The Financial Express

Why do we need them?

Well, India’s military has been wanting better weapons like these to replace old ones, like the Igla missile, which they’ve had since the 1980s. Getting these new missiles will make the Indian Army better at defending against air attacks.

In the future, they might even make a version of the missile that can be used by helicopters like the LCH and Rudra. These helicopters currently use a French missile, but having an Indian-made one would be better.

Recently, because of tensions with China, India got some new Russian Igla-S MANPADS consisting of 216 missiles and 24 launchers. But they are still waiting on the bigger order of procurement of 5125 missiles, 1276 launchers, and the associated Transfer of Technology to facilitate local manufacturing.