Flight-trial of first-of-its-kind Naval Anti-Ship missile successfully conducted

Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Navy carried out successful flight-trials of first-of-its-kind Naval Anti-Ship missile (NASM-SR) from Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur on February 25, 2025. The trials demonstrated the missile’s capability against ship targets while launched from an Indian Naval Seaking Helicopter.

The trials have proven 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 Seeker for terminal guidance. The mission also has demonstrated the high bandwidth two way datalink system, which is used to transmit the seeker live images back to the pilot for in-flight retargeting.

The missile was launched in Bearing-only Lock-on after launch mode with several targets in close vicinity for selecting one among them. The missile initially locked on to a large target within a specified zone of search and during the terminal phase, the pilot selected a smaller hidden target resulting in its being hit with pinpoint accuracy.