What is NASM SR? Indian Navy, DRDO conduct maiden salvo launch of naval anti ship missile off Odisha coast

The Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Indian Navy successfully carried out the maiden salvo launch of the Naval Anti ship Missile Short Range from a naval helicopter platform off the coast of the Bay of Bengal in Odisha last week.

During the trial, two missiles were launched in quick succession from the same helicopter, marking the first salvo launch of an advanced air launched anti ship missile system.

All test objectives were achieved, based on data captured through various range tracking instruments, including radar, electro optical systems and telemetry deployed by the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur.


In addition to demonstrating salvo launch capability, the missiles also achieved waterline hit capability during the trials.

Also Read: US-Iran war ending or escalating? USS Gerald R Ford to head home from Middle East as Trump weighs fresh strikes on Iran

The launches were witnessed by senior scientists from the Defence Research and Development Organisation, representatives of the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force, as well as development cum production partners.

Missile equipped with advanced indigenous systems

The Naval Anti ship Missile Short Range uses a solid propulsion booster along with a long burn sustainer. It incorporates key subsystems such as a seeker, integrated avionics module and advanced navigation and guidance systems.

The missile is a fire and forget system with post launch lock on capability and carries a 100 kg warhead. It has a range of up to 55 km and operates at high subsonic speeds while flying at low altitude to evade detection. Its long burn sustainer enables extended powered flight.

These include a fibre optic gyroscope based inertial navigation system, a radio altimeter, advanced control and guidance algorithms, a high bandwidth two way data link and jet vane control. These components have been developed indigenously by various laboratories of the Defence Research and Development Organisation with support from industry.

Work is also underway on a longer range variant, the Naval Anti ship Missile Medium Range, which was showcased on the Indian Navy’s MiG 29K aircraft during Aero India 2025.

Developed through multi lab collaboration

The missile system has been developed by the Research Center Imarat in Hyderabad in collaboration with other Defence Research and Development Organisation laboratories, including the Defence Research and Development Laboratory in Hyderabad, the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory in Pune, the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory in Chandigarh and the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur.

The missiles are currently being produced by development cum production partners with support from other Indian industries and start ups.

Officials commend successful test

Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh congratulated the Defence Research and Development Organisation, the Indian Navy, the Indian Air Force and industry partners for the successful launch. He said the development of the missile will significantly enhance the capabilities of the defence forces.

Secretary of the Department of Defence Research and Development and Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, Samir V Kamat, also congratulated the teams involved in the successful salvo launches.