Dubbed the SMART (Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo) system, the weapon was launched from Wheeler Island off the coast of India’s Odisha state on Monday, the country’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
“This launch and demonstration is significant in establishing anti-submarine warfare capabilities.” the statement said Monday. “All the mission objectives including missile flight up to the range and altitude, separation of the nose cone, release of Torpedo and deployment of Velocity Reduction Mechanism (VRM) have been met perfectly.”
“This will be a major technology breakthrough for stand-off capability in anti-submarine warfare,” Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said in a tweet.
Other nations, including Russia, the United States and Japan, have missiles or rockets that can carry a lightweight torpedo, but none come close to the reported range of the Indian weapon.
India has been boosting its anti-submarine warfare capabilities in recent years, acquiring state-of-the-art aircraft such as US-made Boeing P-8 reconnaissance planes and MH-60R Seahawk helicopters. Those aircraft could be detecting enemy submarines operating far from the India warships armed with the SMART system and transmitting targeting information back to them, significantly expanding the range for each Indian vessel.
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