India carries out ‘guided flight trials' of indigenous anti-ship missile

An Indian Navy Sea King Mk 42B helicopter firing a Naval Anti-Ship Missile – Short Range as part of the weapon's guided flight trials. (Indian Navy)

India has carried out another test of an indigenously developed anti-surface guided weapon known as the Naval Anti-Ship Missile – Short Range (NASM-SR).

The latest launch was carried out as part of the weapon's ‘guided flight trials', the Indian Navy announced via an official social media channel on 21 November.

Similar to its maiden flight test in May 2022, the weapon was launched from a Sea King Mk 42B helicopter operated by the Indian Navy.

In its announcement the service described the test, which was carried out in collaboration with the country's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), as “a significant step towards achieving self-reliance in niche missile technology, including seeker and guidance technology”.

The NASM-SR is a helicopter-launched variant of the NASM family of missiles. The subsonic weapon is powered by a two-stage solid-propellant rocket motor, and it can reach an average cruise speed of Mach 0.8.

The sea-skimming weapon is India's first indigenous air-launched anti-ship missile system, and it carried out its maiden flight from a Sea King Mk 42B helicopter at the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur in Odisha on 18 May 2022.

With an overall length of 3.6 m and a diameter of 300 mm, it weighs about 380 kg and has a maximum range of 55 km.

Weapon guidance is provided by four trapezoidal wings in the upper section of the weapon's mid-body with a further four delta fins in the lower half of the missile.