The trial for DRDO’s indigenously developed Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo (SMART) missile was successfully conducted today off the Odisha coast from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island, earlier known as the Wheeler Island. The test-fire, which had been scheduled for launch at 11.45 hours today, met all the objectives of the trial.
The launch and successful demonstration of the potentiality of the SMART missile was a positive indicator for India’s anti-submarine (ASW) stand-off capabilities, a defence statement noted. Rajnath Singh, who heads the Ministry of Defence, also congratulated the DRDO for the feat and remarked that such a development marks a breakthrough for ASW capabilities.
The flight testing of SMART comes amidst the backdrop of another successful trial for ‘Shaurya’, an indigenously developed nuclear-capable hypersonic missile with a strike range of around 1,000 km from its launch site. “All the mission objectives (of SMART) including missile flight up to the range and altitude, separation of the nose cone, the release of the torpedo, and deployment of velocity reduction mechanism (VRM) have been met perfectly,” an official statement said.
Dr G Sathish Reddy, who helms the DRDO and is also the Secretary to the Department of Defence R&D, said that SMART is a game-changer and the hybrid technology adopted for its design helps upgrade the present system alongside improving the striking range. SMART can be launched from both a warship as well as a truck-based coastal battery, sources claim.