India Boosts Sea Strike Power with New Anti-Ship Missile

India successfully test-fired its Naval Anti-Ship Missile (Short Range) in a first-ever salvo launch from a naval helicopter, boosting its maritime strike capabilities.

Adding more teeth to its arsenal, India has successfully conducted the maiden salvo launch of its Naval Anti-Ship Missile-Short Range (NASM-SR) from the Indian Navy's helicopter off the coast of Bay of Bengal in Odisha, defence officials said on Thursday.

Two missiles launched in quick succession from the same helicopter during the trial marked the first salvo launch of an advanced air-launched anti-ship missile system.

This was a joint test and evaluation exercise by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Navy.

Successful Test Objectives Met

Defence sources said all test objectives were fully met, based on data captured using various range tracking instruments like radar, electro-optical systems, and telemetry deployed by the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur.

'The trials demonstrated the missile's capability against ship targets when launched from an Indian naval helicopter,' the ministry of defence (MoD) said in a statement.

'The salvo launch and waterline hit capabilities of the missile were validated during the trials,' the MoD added.

Indigenous Development and Advanced Features

The missile system has been developed by Hyderabad-based Research Center Imarat (RCI), in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories, including Hyderabad-based Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Pune-based High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Chandigarh-based Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) and ITR Chandipur.

NASM-SR features lock-on after launch, with automatic target selection. The missile can strike in sea skimming and lofted trajectory modes.

It supports fire-and-forget operation in all weather conditions, day or night. It can re-target through a two-way datalink (human-in-the-loop system).

The MoD said the missile uses a solid propulsion booster and long-burn sustainer.

All critical subsystems like the seeker, integrated avionics module, advanced navigation and guidance using fibre-optic gyroscope-based Inertial Navigation System (INS) and radio-altimeter, along with advanced control and guidance algorithm, high-bandwidth two-way data link and Jet-vane control have been developed indigenously by different laboratories of DRDO and Indian Industries.

Missile Specifications and Future Plans

The 3.6-metre-long missile with a diameter of 300 mm weighs around 400 kg.

It can carry warheads up to 100 kg. With a strike range of 55 km, the indigenously developed missile can travel at a speed of Mach 0.8 at an altitude ranging from 50 metres to 3 km.

The DRDO is reportedly planning a longer version of the missile for attacking land targets.

Previous Trials and Manufacturing

The first test of the missile was carried out from a Sea King Mk.42B helicopter in 2022, while the first guided trial was conducted in collaboration with the Indian Navy in November 2023.

The trials conducted in February 2025 proved the missile's man-in-loop feature and scored a direct hit on a small ship target in sea-skimming mode at its maximum range.

The missile uses an indigenous imaging infra-red (IIR) seeker for terminal guidance. The IIR seeker is immune to jamming.

The missile is being manufactured by Adani Defence and Aerospace under development cum production partner (DcPP) programme with help from other Indian industries and start-ups.

Senior scientists from DRDO, user representatives from the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force and production partners witnessed the test launches.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff