At the beginning of December 2021, India successfully tested VL-SRSAM (vertical launch short-range surface-to-air missile). After this successful test of the Defence Research and Development Organisation – DRDO, Ministry of Defence, Government of India., the Defense Minister of India tweeted and congratulated this success. Along with him, the CM of many states of India also congratulated him by tweeting.
DRDO has also released a video of the test of this missile. In this video, we can see that it has targeted an electronic signal that is not visible. Currently, VL-SRSAM has been launched and tested from the surface. Still, in the future, the main objective of this missile will be to defend India’s only aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya.
However, it must be clear that it won’t just protect the aircraft carrier; it will also defend the destroyers and frigates by installing them. India has only one aircraft carrier, and the second carrier, INS Vikrant, will be commissioned around 2023.
From a strategic point of view, the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea are crucial to India, and each side needs one carrier.
INS Vikramaditya was commissioned in 1987 and served in the Soviet Navy. After the fall of the USSR, it served in the Russian Navy. In 2004, India bought at the price of 2. 3 billion $. This giant completed its sea trials in July 2013, and since then, it has been the pride of the Indian Armed Forces. Therefore, defending this proud missile is critical to have it installed on this aircraft.
Why is VL-SRSAM Missile Essential?
India has a mighty aircraft carrier, and it needs to be protected. In 2018, it was reported that Pakistan could receive China’s new aircraft killer missile, which has not happened yet but may happen in the future.
Now, What Missiles Are Protecting Vikramaditya?
Two missiles have been protecting Vikramaditya. One of them is Barak 8, which is an Indo-Israel-made missile. The second missile is the Barak 1 missile, which India has bought from Israel. DRDO does not have any role in Barak 1.
Barak 1 missile is installed on many other ships apart from Vikramaditya. Due to a lack of visibility, it needs to be replaced with the more featured missile, which is VL-SRSM.
FEATURES OF THE VL-SRSAM
- The missile is designed to hit the target at a range of 40-50km at high speed at an altitude of around 15 km.
- Its trajectory can be changed in the air after launching the missile. This ability is called the thurst vectoring feature, which controls the missile’s attitude also. The missile can be launched vertically, which adds the advantage of giving more room. Meaning more missiles can be launched simultaneously.
- It is contained and operated from a specialized canister. The inside environment is controlled, which makes transportation and storage easy.
Barak 8: This Indo-Israel Surface Air Missile Will Continue To Serve. It’s designed to defend against any type of airborne threat, including aircraft, helicopters, anti-ship missiles, and UAVs, as well as ballistic missiles and combat jets. Maritime and land variants are working at their total capacity.
