India Test-fires Its First Anti-Radiation Missile 'Rudram' | Here's All You Need to Know

'Rudram' is the country's first indigenous Anti Radiation missile for Indian Air Force that has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

New Delhi: India on Friday successfully test-fired 'Rudram' anti-radiation missile at the interim test range Balasore, off the coast of Odisha in the Bay of Bengal, at about 10.30 am.

The missile has a launch speech of up to 2 Mach, twice the speed of sound, people familiar with the matter said.

'Rudram' is the country's first indigenous Anti Radiation missile for Indian Air Force that has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The missile is integrated on Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter aircraft as launch platform, having capability of varying ranges based on launch conditions, the DRDO said.

"It has INS-GPS navigation with Passive Homing Head for the final attack. 'Rudram' hit the radiation target with pinpoint accuracy. Passive Homing Head can detect, classify and engage targets over a wide band of frequencies as programmed," the DRDO said.

"This is a huge step forward," a senior government official said about the DRDO's successful test firing. "The IAF will now have the capability to perform SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defence) operations deep into enemy territory to destroy enemy air defence setup," the official said.

This would allow the IAF's strike aircraft to carry out their mission unhindered effectively. "This test demonstrates the capability of an Anti-Radiation Missile with large stand-off ranges," a second official said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted his congratulations to the DRDO team that developed the supersonic-capable missile.

"The New Generation Anti-Radiation Missile (Rudram-1) which is India's first indigenous anti-radiation missile developed by DRDO for Indian Air Force was tested successfully today at ITR, Balasore. Congratulations to DRDO & other stakeholders for this remarkable achievement," Rajnath Singh said on Twitter.

The tactical, air-to-surface anti-radiation missile is equipped with a passive homing head that tracks sources of radiation of a wide range of frequencies. It can lock into a target not only before launch but also after it has been launched.

The missile is comparable to the tactical air-to-surface missile AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile that was inducted by the US Navy only in 2017 and can engage relocatable Integrated Air Defence targets and other targets equipped with shutdown capability. It means even if the enemy shuts down the radar after the missile is launched, it will still hit the target.

(With ANI inputs)