Parliamentary Committee Reveals VL-SRSAM Missile Range Double Previous Estimates, Reaching 80 km

A recent report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence has revealed that the Vertical Launch Short Range Surface to Air Missile (VL-SRSAM) boasts a significantly longer range than previously estimated.

Contrary to earlier claims by the DRDO of a 30-40 km range, the committee's report confirms that the missile can actually strike targets up to 80 km away.

Developed specifically for the Indian Navy, the VL-SRSAM is a critical component of its air defence strategy. It is designed to neutralize a variety of aerial threats, including fighter aircraft, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), particularly challenging low-altitude sea-skimming targets. The missile system utilizes vertical launch technology, enabling rapid and effective response capabilities against incoming threats.

The VL-SRSAM underwent a successful flight test on August 23, 2022, at the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur, off the Odisha coast. During this test, the missile was launched against a high-speed unmanned aerial target, successfully demonstrating its vertical launch capabilities and accuracy.

The revelation of the missile's extended range is a significant development for the Indian Navy, substantially enhancing its air defence capabilities. The ability to engage threats at greater distances provides increased protection for naval assets and offers a potential strategic advantage in maritime operations.

This clarification by the parliamentary committee highlights the importance of transparency and accuracy in reporting the capabilities of defence projects. It also raises questions about the initial underestimation of the missile's range, which could have implications for strategic planning, budget allocations, and international perceptions of Indian defence technology.

 

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[Anant]

Extended range and all is good, but deployment is still some time away, it seems. In the meantime, our larger surface warships are equipped with a frankly insultingly low number of self-defence SAMs.

Right now, we need to seriously consider the following things when it comes to SAMs for warships:

1. Get the VL-SRSAM done quickly, and start integrating it on the warships. A good goal might be to have 64 MRSAMs (such as the VL-SRSAM or Barak 8) on our destroyers plus 16 or so of the planned LRSAMs (for BMD duties). The frigates could go for a 64 MRSAMs and skip the LRSAMs entirely. The larger corvettes and OPVs need to be fitted with 32 SRSAMs or MRSAMs quickly.
2. If the range of the VL-SRSAM is now as high as 80 km, it would also be more expensive. Therefore, we would need some new system to replace the Barak 1 and be a cheaper, shorter-ranged (say, up to 35-40 km) SAM.
3. For point defence, we need to get the VSHORAD done, and then integrate it into a multi-rocket launch platform like the US RIM-116 system. Such systems are normally deck-level systems with one deck penetration at most, so we could add such a system in numbers on our fleet to complement the AK-630M.

 

[R. Singh]

DRDO should also develop catheterized AKASH NG with 80-100 KM range !

 

[abhinav srivastava]

80 km is a good range.

 

[Baiju Bhaskaran]

The parliamentary panel should focus on pressuring the Defense PSU's in increasing production and not the scientific establishment and military in disclosing classified informations in the name of transparency.

 

[Radha Ramanan]

Hitting a subsonic drone with modern missiles is nothing. Neither is the range so important, though it is welcome. Today, no fighter aircraft or maritime patrol aircraft will come within 100 km of a modern warship as they all have robust air defenses. The real deal is to make this missile capable of hitting supersonic anti-ship missiles at low levels like the Brahmos. China has supplied enough supersonic anti-shipping missiles to Pakistan. The real deal is to take down these missiles coming in at Mach 2.5. The MRSAM or the Barak 8 is capable of doing that, but the crucial seeker algorithms are not given to us. They are the family jewels of missile technology. This, combined with the fuzing technology, as the detonation of the fuze timing is very important due to the combined speeds of the missile and target, can reach Mach 4.5, where every microsecond delay can be a miss, given that at that combined approach velocity, the speed is about 4100 ft per second. Or for every microsecond, i.e., one-thousandth of a second, the speed is 4 ft. The missile target is usually 20 ft long. The warhead of the Kalibr supersonic missile that China has given to Pakistan after copying it is much shorter, thus more difficult. We also have the same missile deployed on our Kilo subs.

 

[Kira]

80 km is a good range.

It will actually be lower than the Astra AAM variant as the ground launched ones need to against gravity to target a fast flying higher altitude target,while the air launched ones enjoy the benefits of launching jet's speed and the fact that the targeted jet for a BVR shot is usually in lower altitude as compared to the launch jet.

 

[Satish1]

The parliamentary panel should focus on pressuring the Defense PSU's in increasing production and not the scientific establishment and military in disclosing classified informations in the name of transparency.

Indian defence fanboys will get triggered unless they are fed classified information with their breakfast. They need to know everything, or else the next day they will start barking, "Look, look, look, Indian Defence forces are useless, DRDO, HAL are waste organizations, they are doing nothing." This is the mindset of the citizens of this country. These morons are no less than those jokers who were asking for proof of the Balakot airstrike. Then they say we trust our army, then go on bashing them day and night. I say the parliamentary panel should disclose everything to make Indians happy; otherwise, how can we make so many reels? Intelligent and sensible people first do things completely, roll out projects completely in other countries, then they showcase, but here, fanboys need to know every little update. On top of that, all these organizations also have faults; they think they are the pinnacle of science and technology. All prehistoric babus behave like Angels of Resurrection. You can't feed them any new ideas; you have to bow down and listen. Stubborn attitude and corruption are the two ultimate weapons they hold.

In a country with a history of having the greatest engineer of the universe, Lord Vishwakarma, we are struggling to build things. Somewhere, our attitude and mindset play a key role, from the governing body to the last crusader in the departments.

 

[Ray]

It will actually be lower than the Astra AAM variant as the ground launched ones need to against gravity to target a fast flying higher altitude target,while the air launched ones enjoy the benefits of launching jet's speed and the fact that the targeted jet for a BVR shot is usually in lower altitude as compared to the launch jet.

Indeed
But it can can work awesomely as a short range air defence system for all kind of ships of IN.
With 30 kms max range, it'll be a part of layered air defence for all future Indian ships.

 

[Kira]

Indeed
But it can can work awesomely as a short range air defence system for all kind of ships of IN.
With 30 kms max range, it'll be a part of layered air defence for all future Indian ships.

True, hopefully they can keep the production up with the upcoming demand,also IN ships need to seriously increase their capacity to carry both AD missiles and anti-ship ones.
Tonnage to tonnage, they are seriously under armed compared to other similar class ships in other navies.