India’s state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Air Force have successfully flight-tested the indigenously developed helicopter-launched Stand-Off Anti-Tank (SANT) missile.
The weapon is equipped with a state-of-art millimeter wave seeker for high precision strikes. It can be used to hit targets from a safe distance and up to a range of 10 kilometers (6.21 miles).
The Defense Ministry said that the trial, which was conducted in Rajasthan’s Pokhran range, was successful in meeting the mission objectives.
“This is the third in the series of indigenous stand-off weapons to be tested in recent times after long range bomb and smart anti airfield weapon for strengthening the arsenal of [the Indian Air Force],” a statement from the Ministry of Defence said.
“The release mechanism, advanced guidance and tracking algorithms, all avionics with integrated software, performed satisfactorily and tracking systems monitored all mission events,” it added.
The indigenous making of the weapon comes amid the country’s push for self-reliance (Aatmanirbharta) in the defense and other manufacturing sectors.
Dr. G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary of Department of Defence R&D and DRDO Chairman said the successful flight test of the missile will “further bolster the indigenous defence capabilities.”