India test fires first indigenous Naval Anti-Ship Missile
New Delhi, May 18 : Indian Navy with DRDO successfully undertook maiden firing of the first indigenously developed Naval Anti-Ship Missile from Seaking 42B helicopter on Wednesday at Interested Test Range (ITR), Balasore, Odisha. This firing is a significant step towards achieving self-reliance in niche missile technology and reaffirms the Indian Navy’s commitment to indigenisation, the Navy said. The naval Anti ship missile has a range of 55 km and it carries a 100 kg warhead to target enemy ships and patrol boats, sources said. There has been a growing emphasis over indigenization and achieving self-reliance in the Indian armed forces with political as well as military leadership repeatedly talking about it. Addressing the Indian Navy’s top brass during the Naval Commanders’ Conference last month, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the ongoing Russia- Ukraine conflict highlighted that being self-reliant without dependencies is a vital necessity. Incidentally, there have been reports based on recent satellite images that the Chinese military has improved its anti-ship missile training from targeting huge, carrier-sized targets to smaller ships and naval stations.
