New Delhi: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Navy on Tuesday successfully flight tested Vertical Launch Short Range Surface-to-Air Missile (VL-SRSAM) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.

The Ministry of Defence said that the flight test was carried out from an Indian Naval Ship against a high-speed unmanned aerial target for demonstration of vertical launch capability.

Giving more details about the test launch, the ministry said that the missiles, equipped with indigenous Radio Frequency (RF) seeker, intercepted the target with high accuracy.

The VL-SRSAM system has been indigenously designed and developed by DRDO.

The flight path and vehicle performance parameters during the test launch were monitored using flight data, captured by various Range instruments including Radar, Electro-optical tracking system (EOTS) and Telemetry systems deployed by ITR, Chandipur.

Senior scientists from various DRDO labs involved in the design and development of the system such as Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad and R&D Engineers, Pune were present during the launch to mointor it.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh complimented DRDO, Indian Navy and associated teams on the successful flight trial of VL-SRSAM and stated that the missile will prove to be a force multiplier for the Indian Navy.

Secretary Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO congratulated the teams involved in the successful flight test. He said that the trial has proved the effectiveness of the weapon system.

He further said that it will further strengthen the Indian Navy for neutralising various aerial threats at close ranges including sea-skimming targets.