India Flight-Tests SMART Supersonic Torpedo Launcher

The Supersonic Missile-Assisted Release of Torpedo (SMART) has been successfully flight tested, 5th Oct 2020, at 1145 hrs from Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha, India. The tracking stations (radars, electro optical systems) along the coast and the telemetry stations including down range ships monitored all the events. 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. SMART is a missile assisted release of lightweight anti-submarine torpedo system for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) operations far beyond torpedo range.

The development of the system has been crucial in capacity building of naval platforms to strike beyond the torpedo range. The system will be a significant addition to India’s anti-submarine warfare capabilities and the test is a key step towards its deployment. 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. The tracking mechanisms for test — the radars, electro-optical systems along the coast and the telemetry stations, including down range ships — monitored all the events.

The Indian Defence Ministry claimed that 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 have been met perfectly”. This launch and demonstration are significant in establishing Anti-Submarine Warfare capabilities. A number of DRDO laboratories including DRDL, RCI Hyderabad, ADRDE Agra, NSTL Visakhapatnam have developed the technologies required for SMART. Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO Scientists for the important feat.Secretary DD R&D & Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy, said that SMART is a game changer technology demonstration in the Anti-Submarine Warfare.

The Indian Navy has already deployed the BrahMos supersonic anti-ship and land-attack cruise missile as well as the domestically-manufactured Varunastra heavyweight torpedo. For the past few years, the Indian government has expedited the development of its strategy to enhance its ability to conduct surveillance of Chinese warships and submarines entering the India Ocean Region (IOR) through the nearby Malacca Strait — one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. Countries like China, Russia, and the US have SMART type weapons too. China has developed Yu-8 anti-submarine missile which works on the same hybrid principle of SMART weapons system but has a range of only 40 km.