India's DRDO, Navy Test NASMSR Salvo from Helicopter

India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Navy successfully conducted the maiden salvo launch of the Naval Anti-Ship Missile Short Range (NASMSR) from a naval helicopter off the Odisha coast in the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday.

Two missiles were fired in quick succession from a Sea King helicopter during the trial at the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur. The defence ministry stated that all test objectives were met, with performance data captured through radar, electro-optical systems and telemetry. The launches validated the system's salvo capability and demonstrated waterline strike precision, targeting a ship's hull to maximize flooding and structural damage.

The NASMSR, India's first indigenous helicopter-launched anti-ship missile, flies at sea-skimming altitudes to evade radar detection and operates on a fire-and-forget principle. Weighing around 380 kilograms, it has a range of up to 55 kilometers and functions in all weather conditions, day or night. Powered by a solid-propellant booster and long-burn sustainer, the missile features an imaging infrared seeker, integrated avionics, a fibre-optic gyroscope-based inertial navigation system,...