New Delhi: Indian Navy in association with DRDO successfully undertook maiden firing of the first indigenously developed naval anti-ship missile from Seaking 42B helicopter on May 18 at ITR, Balasore.

“This firing is a significant step towards achieving self-reliance in niche missile technology and reaffirms the Indian Navy’s commitment to indigenisation,” said a senior Navy official. The Indian Navy released a brief video of the Seaking 42B helicopter firing the missile on Twitter.

It is the first indigenous air-launched anti-ship missile system for the Indian Navy and the test was carried out from a Seaking 42B helicopter.

“The missile followed the desired sea skimming trajectory and reached the designated target with high degree of accuracy, validating the control, guidance and mission algorithms,” DRDO said. All the sub-systems performed satisfactorily and the sensors deployed across the test range and near impact point tracked the missile trajectory and captured all the events, it stated.

According to DRDO, the missile employed many new technologies, including an indigenously developed launcher for the helicopter, and the missile guidance system includes a state-of-the-art navigation system and integrated avionics and the mission met all its objectives.

The Indian Navy has been steadily enhancing its overall combat capability to effectively protect India’s maritime security interests, particularly in the Indian Ocean region.

The test-firing of the new missile came over a month after an anti-ship version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test-fired jointly by the Indian Navy and the Andaman and Nicobar Command.