The defence ministry said that India tested its own air defence weapon, the very short-range air defence system (VSHORADS) missile, twice on Tuesday. The tests were done from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, which is off the coast of Odisha.
Two months ago, the Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) started the process for the army to buy the VSHORADS, which were made by the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The tests are happening now. The weapon has been tested before by DRDO, which did two successful tests on Tuesday.
“The flight tests were done from a man-portable launcher on the ground against high-speed unmanned aerial targets that looked like aircraft coming and going. “All mission goals were met because the targets were successfully intercepted,” the defence ministry said in a statement.
The VSHORADS is a portable air defence system that can stop low-flying threats from a short distance away.
Rajnath Singh, who is in charge of defence, said that the missile’s new technologies would give the armed forces another technological boost.
In January, DAC gave the go-ahead to buy military equipment worth 4,276 crore. This included an air defence weapon and homegrown anti-tank guided missiles that are launched from helicopters. DAC is India’s main group for buying weapons.
Under India’s rules for buying military equipment, the first step is for the council to accept that there is a need (AoN).
The DAC gave the green light to the VSHORADS and other military equipment on January 10. This was done under the Indian-IDDM category, which is the most important category for indigenization under the defence procurement policy. IDDM stands for designed, developed, and made in the same country.
When it comes to getting equipment, this category has been given the highest priority. It means to buy military equipment from an Indian seller as long as the equipment has at least 50% Indian content (IC) based on the cost of the whole contract.
“Given what’s been going on along the northern borders (with China), it’s important to focus on effective air defence systems that can be moved by one person and set up quickly. “Buying VSHORADS, which is a strong system that can be set up quickly, will improve air defence,” the ministry said.
India and China have been in a standoff at their border for almost three years. Along the border with China, the army is quickly improving its weapons and systems. These include artillery guns, swarm drone systems that can carry out offensive missions in enemy territory, longer-range rockets, remotely piloted aerial systems, and high mobility protected vehicles. The army is also working on developing light tanks for mountain warfare and futuristic infantry combat vehicles (FICVs).
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