India test fired 1st indigenously developed anti-radiation missile Rudram-1

India has successfully test fired a new generation anti-radiation missile which will be part of the tactical weaponry of the Indian Air Force.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2020

Key-Points

Anti-radiation missiles are designed to detect, track and neutralise the adversary’s radar, communication assets and other radio frequency sources, which are generally part of their air defence systems.

Such a missile’s navigation mechanism comprises an inertial navigation system — a computerised mechanism that uses changes in the object’s own position — coupled with GPS, which is satellite-based.

For guidance, it has a “passive homing head” — a system that can detect, classify and engage targets (radio frequency sources in this case) over a wide band of frequencies as programmed.

Rudram is an air-to-surface missile, designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Once the Rudram missile locks on the target, it is capable of striking accurately even if the radiation source switches off in between. The missile has an operational range of more than 100 km, based on the launch parameters from the fighter jet.

While the system has been tested from a Sukhoi-30 MKI, it can be adapted for launch from other fighter jets too.

Rudram has been developed for the IAF’s requirement to enhance its Suppression of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD) capability.