DRDO's Recent SMART Missile Test Reveals Improved Design and Extended Range

On May 1st, 2024, India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) achieved a significant milestone in anti-submarine warfare (ASW) technology with the successful test launch of the Supersonic Missile-Assisted Release of Torpedo (SMART) system. The test, conducted from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha, showcased not only the system's refined design but also a potentially substantial increase in range, marking a major advancement in India's indigenous defense capabilities.

SMART is a missile-based system designed to deliver a lightweight torpedo over extended distances. Its complex engineering encompasses a two-stage solid propulsion system, an electromechanical actuator system, and a precision inertial navigation system for accurate targeting, all housed within a canister-launched missile. Upon reaching its target area, the system deploys a parachute-based mechanism to release its torpedo payload.

Previous estimates suggested a range of approximately 650 kilometers for SMART. However, the latest test indicates significant improvements. Enhanced airframe design, evident in images of the tested system, likely contributes to greater efficiency and extended range. Furthermore, a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued for the test designated an operational area of 985 kilometers, strongly suggesting that the new variant of SMART boasts a significantly expanded reach, potentially exceeding 850-900 kilometers.

This expanded range represents a pivotal shift in the Indian Navy's ASW capabilities. It enables engagement of enemy submarines from a far greater distance, particularly crucial in protecting India's extensive coastline, home to major naval ports and bases. Such an extended range provides a significant strategic advantage, bolstering India's maritime defense posture.

 

[The Presence]

Hope it's tested with ALWT not the boring old TAL.

 

[Bhishma]

this is fantastic news. This is logical because really this is just torpedo-on-Brahmos. We already know that stated range of Brahmos is 900km. it means that from within Indian land, we can take out subs anywhere in Pakistan's coastline (covers upto Oman), Maldives, SL, Malacca straits (upto KL). Pretty much invalidates all the pearls of China. China has spent billions in acquiring ports. We just invalidated them with few million $ missile. China's investment have turned out to be useless.

In the event of war, we can completely choke Malacca straits. Their surface fleet is already vulnerable in the narrow straits. Even if lets say China has positioned 50 subs in IOR, they will have zero advantage. We can decimate their entire sub fleet. This is a great deterrent.

If China tries to take Ar.P, we will deliver a severe economic blow to them. China needs to be very clear that if they make any moves on us, we will cut off both Tibet and Sinkiang from China. no more Galwan type hand to hand combat bull. Let them enter Ar.P, we will rapidly deploy in Tibet. Arm the locals to teeth and trigger a full scale rebellion. It will be a war of attrition. We just have to light the fuse and back off. The internal war will fight itself. All we have to do is take down their AD, take control of airstrips and take out key connecting points to Chinese mainland.

 

[Sandeep]

This is a very good weapon and it's a cost effective solution which can be used to hit submarines and naval ships before they even manage to get close to our islands or ships. We just need to make sure we refine and fine tune the missile and torpedo to make it more accurate but also making sure that the torpedo can manage to lock onto a submarine or naval ship very accurately. While it's good that they are starting off with a light weight torpedo they should also then look at using heavy weight torpedos to increase its range and increase its destructive fire power.

If India designs it very well then it can be used as a very potent silent killer. If they release the torpedo some distance away from the target then it can quickly lock on to that ship or submarine. For the enemy it would be a unexpected surprise as they wouldn't be expecting a incoming missile but if they manage to track the missile and realise it's not going to hit them directly as it's KM away from them then they will most likely ignore or intercept it and once the torpedo is released then it will be very hard for them to detect it and launch any counter measures and it will give them a shorter time frame to react to the sudden threat. Against large carrier groups with a large number of different type of ships and submarines then if we carry out any heavy saturation attacks then we can inflict a heavy amount of damage to them. If we also launched a number of Brahmos missiles at the same time then it will be very hard for them to react against both type of threats and it can lead to a number of distractions and confusion amongst the officers manning those ships.

 

[Anant]

this is fantastic news. This is logical because really this is just torpedo-on-Brahmos. We already know that stated range of Brahmos is 900km. it means that from within Indian land, we can take out subs anywhere in Pakistan's coastline (covers upto Oman), Maldives, SL, Malacca straits (upto KL). Pretty much invalidates all the pearls of China. China has spent billions in acquiring ports. We just invalidated them with few million $ missile. China's investment have turned out to be useless.

In the event of war, we can completely choke Malacca straits. Their surface fleet is already vulnerable in the narrow straits. Even if lets say China has positioned 50 subs in IOR, they will have zero advantage. We can decimate their entire sub fleet. This is a great deterrent.

If China tries to take Ar.P, we will deliver a severe economic blow to them. China needs to be very clear that if they make any moves on us, we will cut off both Tibet and Sinkiang from China. no more Galwan type hand to hand combat bull. Let them enter Ar.P, we will rapidly deploy in Tibet. Arm the locals to teeth and trigger a full scale rebellion. It will be a war of attrition. We just have to light the fuse and back off. The internal war will fight itself. All we have to do is take down their AD, take control of airstrips and take out key connecting points to Chinese mainland.

Easy there. This is not a BrahMos missile with a torpedo. No, this is a missile that launches a torpedo. And while this system (assuming it's not ridiculously expensive) is a massive boost against Chinese and Bhikaristani submarines, it is not a war-winning weapon. Such weapons are not infallible. That is, once we detect an enemy submarine, we'll need a few of these to sink it. China cannot deploy 50 SSKs into the IOR, but they can still deploy enough to cause us some major headaches.

That said, China isn't an idiot. Now that they know that the SMART system is being operationalised, they will take countermeasures themselves. Oh, and if China does enter Arunachal Pradesh, while we can deal them a fairly heavy economic blow, we are in no position to isolate Tibet and East Turkestan from China. The Himalayas are just as much a challenge for us as they are for them. We cannot deploy in Tibet, as the mountain passes would be heavily fortified, and any advance would be very difficult.

Do not also forget the PLAAF. They have superior numbers and superior infrastructure in Tibet. If we do manage to break-through into Tibet, those advantages would play in China's favour. China is still a very formidable enemy, and not one we can afford to fight for the sake of our economic growth. Wars have a very bad tendency of impacting economic growth very adversely.

 

[Anant]

Hope it's tested with ALWT not the boring old TAL.

I have a feeling they tested with the Shyena only? As far as I know, the ALWT is a Shyena variant only as opposed to a brand new torpedo.

 

[Anant]

This is a very good weapon and it's a cost effective solution which can be used to hit submarines and naval ships before they even manage to get close to our islands or ships. We just need to make sure we refine and fine tune the missile and torpedo to make it more accurate but also making sure that the torpedo can manage to lock onto a submarine or naval ship very accurately. While it's good that they are starting off with a light weight torpedo they should also then look at using heavy weight torpedos to increase its range and increase its destructive fire power.

If India designs it very well then it can be used as a very potent silent killer. If they release the torpedo some distance away from the target then it can quickly lock on to that ship or submarine. For the enemy it would be a unexpected surprise as they wouldn't be expecting a incoming missile but if they manage to track the missile and realise it's not going to hit them directly as it's KM away from them then they will most likely ignore or intercept it and once the torpedo is released then it will be very hard for them to detect it and launch any counter measures and it will give them a shorter time frame to react to the sudden threat. Against large carrier groups with a large number of different type of ships and submarines then if we carry out any heavy saturation attacks then we can inflict a heavy amount of damage to them. If we also launched a number of Brahmos missiles at the same time then it will be very hard for them to react against both type of threats and it can lead to a number of distractions and confusion amongst the officers manning those ships.

SMART would be more of a deterrent against submarines. The system only carries lightweight torpedoes, which aren't the most effective weapons against surface ships. That said, you do sink ships by letting in water at the bottom, so a swarm of ITCMs, SMARTs, and a few BrahMos would be a massive problem for anyone on the receiving side.

 

[Ut]

Phillipines would be good export as they would want this to counter submarine. They already have brahmos for ship countermeasure.

 

[Boomeranger]

I have a feeling they tested with the Shyena only? As far as I know, the ALWT is a Shyena variant only as opposed to a brand new torpedo.

why u r always saying crapes only here? No truth at all in what you and Sandep and Ashfucq are saying in here....

 

[Anant]

why u r always saying crapes only here? No truth at all in what you and Sandep and Ashfucq are saying in here....

Instead of making statements or simply countering me, do you have any references which point out I am wrong?

I am very definitely saying what I feel is right. If you don't think I am right, you are more than welcome to counter my points. I welcome alternate points of view. However, if you are doing something like that, I only ask you do so with relevant information and with a modicum of courtesy.

 

[Bhishma]

Easy there. This is not a BrahMos missile with a torpedo. No, this is a missile that launches a torpedo. And while this system (assuming it's not ridiculously expensive) is a massive boost against Chinese and Bhikaristani submarines, it is not a war-winning weapon. Such weapons are not infallible. That is, once we detect an enemy submarine, we'll need a few of these to sink it. China cannot deploy 50 SSKs into the IOR, but they can still deploy enough to cause us some major headaches.

That said, China isn't an idiot. Now that they know that the SMART system is being operationalised, they will take countermeasures themselves. Oh, and if China does enter Arunachal Pradesh, while we can deal them a fairly heavy economic blow, we are in no position to isolate Tibet and East Turkestan from China. The Himalayas are just as much a challenge for us as they are for them. We cannot deploy in Tibet, as the mountain passes would be heavily fortified, and any advance would be very difficult.

Do not also forget the PLAAF. They have superior numbers and superior infrastructure in Tibet. If we do manage to break-through into Tibet, those advantages would play in China's favour. China is still a very formidable enemy, and not one we can afford to fight for the sake of our economic growth. Wars have a very bad tendency of impacting economic growth very adversely.

Even if we need a few hits, it has asymmetric advantage. If we lose money at 1x, enemy will be losing at 100x. It will destroy their morale. It takes days for us to replenish while it will take years for them to replenish their stock.

As for countermeasures we will have to see to believe them. Recently someone (chinbot?) said they could intercept Brahmos at 88% interception rate, lol. Well, show me the tech and then we can discuss the numbers.

Taking over Tibet - This is not something we desire. This could be the only option we are left with. Enemy has expressed CLEAR INTENT - they want to rule Ar.P. Thats the rationale behind renaming places. Say they want to invade 5y from now, they are setting the stage today. For China, Ar.P is #2 in their list. #1 ofcourse is Taiwan. They want ocean access, Gwadar is a dead project. So, they will hit Arunachal - high probability. "I will defend what I have" - this is neither sustainable nor will work. Havent we learnt anything in the last 2000 years ? You take the war deep into enemy territory - thats how you win. Not by holding on to what you have.

What if they have PLAAF & infrastructure ? We have the equivalents for that. We need to strike. We need to be prepared to enter Tibet and takeover Tibet. They also have their disadvantages. They are in hostile territory (ie Tibet, Sinkiang). The morale of their forces is very low. With a solid strategy combining humint, guerilla warfare, drones, airstrikes we can make inroads. Their infrastructure can be turned against them. If we took over, it will be their liability. They have built nice long runways. Take out their AD & jets - we can land our heavy aircraft & ship heavy equipment there. They have to sustain long supply lines in hostile territory. All of this can be used to our advantage.

 

[Shrujanam Syama]

Hope it's tested with ALWT not the boring old TAL.

It is the TAL Shyena only. India does not see a reason to have long range torpedo when most of the range is covered by supersonic flight

 

[Shrujanam Syama]

I have a feeling they tested with the Shyena only? As far as I know, the ALWT is a Shyena variant only as opposed to a brand new torpedo.

Yes, it is Shyena as India does not need longer range underwater movement since it slows down the warhead. Most of the movement will be at supersonic speed in the air and only last few km will be underwater targeting

 

[The Presence]

It is the TAL Shyena only. India does not see a reason to have long range torpedo when most of the range is covered by supersonic flight

What if the Submarine dives deeper ? ALWT can dive much deeper than TAL.

 

[Sandeep]

SMART would be more of a deterrent against submarines. The system only carries lightweight torpedoes, which aren't the most effective weapons against surface ships. That said, you do sink ships by letting in water at the bottom, so a swarm of ITCMs, SMARTs, and a few BrahMos would be a massive problem for anyone on the receiving side.

Yes it will be crucial against submarines mainly but we also need the capability to detect them so we can launch the missile from around 1000km away and within that time the submarine and ships will be moving so we need to improve the torpedo as much as we can and make sure our sensors are very sensitive to pick up acoustic noises and infrared signature. It’s better to have a longer range torpedo as much as possible but we will need to develop a missile that can carry a heavy weight torpedo so it can hit their large destroyers or carriers.

But even if it can’t lock onto a submarine then it can lock on to naval ships as well. So this is a very potent and silent stealth killer as no matter what it will definitely hit one or the other. If the enemy travels with a carrier battle group then we can launch these, Brahmos and ITCM to overwhelm any of its defence capabilities. It will be very hard for them to survive against a barrage and a combination of multiple threats.

 

[Rick Golder]

It's literally a game changer weapon. If we can extend the range to around 1000km, it will be truely a great weapon against ships and subs.