NEWS

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted two successful flight tests of the Army version of Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) at off the coast of Odisha

WHAT IS A MRSAM?

• Surface-to-air missile
• Jointly developed by DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)
• Will replace the ageing Air Defence systems of the Army
• Comprises multi-function radar, mobile launcher system and other vehicles
• Has Army, Navy and Air Force variants
• The mobile launcher can transport, place and launch eight canisterised missiles
• Can be fired either in single mode or in ripple firing mode in a vertical firing position
• Management system uses the radar to track and correctly identify the target, calculates the distance from it and gives all the information to the Commander for a decision to be made on interception
• Length – 4.5 metres
• Weight – 275 kg
• Equipped with fins and canards to stabilise its flight and provide it manoeuvrability
• Powered by a solid propulsion system coupled with a thrust vector control system
• Can move at a maximum speed of Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound)
• Can engage multiple targets upto a range of 70 km