India’s first anti-radiation missile ‘Rudram’ will be ready for induction into service by 2022 and it will boost the Indian Air Force’s capabilities to knock out enemy radars and surveillance systems, top officials familiar with the developments. The indigenous missile, being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the IAF, was tested for the first time in the anti-radiation mode from a Sukhoi-30 fighter jet on October 9 against a target on Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast.
“We plan to carry out six to seven more tests before declaring the weapon ready for induction by 2022. The missile’s passive homing head can detect, classify and engage targets over a wide band of frequencies as programmed,” the officials said. The missile will help the air force take out enemy air defence systems from large stand-off ranges. “With this, the country has established indigenous capability to develop long-range air-launched anti-radiation missiles for neutralising enemy radars, communication sites and other RF emitting targets,” the defence ministry announced on October 9 when the missile’s maiden test was conducted.
While the Rudram is likely to be tested again from a Su-30 jet by the year-end, India is also developing a new air-launched missile capable of knocking out enemy tanks from a stand-off distance of more than 10 kilometres and a crucial test of the weapon will be conducted in two months, as reported by Hindustan Times on October 22. India is developing a new class of ultra-modern weapons that can travel six times faster than the speed of sound (Mach 6) and penetrate any missile defence. In early September, the DRDO carried out a successful flight test of the hypersonic technology demonstrator vehicle (HSTDV) for the first time from a launch facility off the Odisha coast.
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