Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM)

It is the most advanced sleek missile developed by India in collaboration with Israel. Developed by the joint efforts of Israel Aerospace Industries and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the missile was tested in the presence of Army officials.

Specifications:

1. The Army version of MRSAM has a strike range of nearly 100 km.
2. It is a 4.5-meter-long nuclear-capable ballistic missile.
3. The weighs around 2.7 tonnes and is capable of carrying a payload of 60 kg.
4. It has a top speed of Mach 2 and can be manoeuvred to a high degree at the target interception range.
5. The launching platform of the MRSAM includes, apart from the missile, a Multi-Functional Surveillance, Threat Alert Radar (MFSTAR) made for the detection, tracking, and guidance of the missile.

Details of the test:

The missile was fired in full operational configuration from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea. The target was an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Banshee, which is a British drone.

The manoeuvring air-breathing target which mimicked an attacking combat aircraft was successfully intercepted by the missile. The Army has reported that the missile satisfied all the mission parameters and all other missile components were validated.

What are the uses of (Medium Range Surface to Air Missiles):

• This new version of MRSAM has been developed to seek and destroy airborne targets like jets, missiles, and rockets, including projectiles, launched simultaneously.
• The other versions of the missile have been tested thrice. The trials of the naval version of MRSAM were conducted from the same testing facility in 2016.
  It was again tested for a user trial from INS Kochi in 2017.

Precautions are taken:

Prior to the conduction of tests, as a precautionary measure, the district administration of Balasore had relocated around 8,100 people, who resided within a 2.5 km radius of the Launching Complex-III of the Integrated Test Range. All the affected residents were compensated based on the Ministry of Defence guidelines.

The local fishermen of Balasore, Bhadrak and Kendrapara districts were warned well in advance to not to venture into the sea during the test. The DRDO is preparing for the second round of testing of the missile.

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