‘Quick reaction' SAM set for Indian Army induction

DRDO and the Indian Army have completed six flight tests of the indigenously developed QRSAM. (Indian Ministry of Defence)

India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Army have completed six flight tests of the indigenously developed Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile System (QRSAM), the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

According to a press release by the MoD on 8 September, the tests were conducted from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur off the northeastern coast in Odisha. The flight tests were conducted as part of evaluation trials, the MoD said.

A DRDO source told Janes that the test was an evaluation conducted by the Indian Army. “We [have been] developing the QRSAM for the Indian Army,” the source said. “Now that the development of [the] QRSAM is completed, the Indian Army tested the missiles for its usage. This is called a user test or an evaluation test. [It is] like a pre-induction test.”

Vipin Kumar Kaushik, the director of the DRDO's Directorate of Public Interface, told Janes that the DRDO regards the QRSAM as now ready for Indian Army induction.

“We have shown the capabilities of QRSAM to the Indian Army,” Kaushik said. “From our side, we are ready for induction. It is up to the army now. The army may do some more final testing but from [the DRDO's] side, the QRSAM is ready for induction into the Indian Army.”

Samir V Kamat, the chairman of DRDO, also said in the MoD release that the missile is ready for induction.

The MoD said the QRSAM flight tests were carried out against high-speed aerial targets mimicking various types of threats to evaluate the capability of the missile in different scenarios.