'Spyder' surface-to-air missile test fired

BALASORE (ODISHA): India today test fired 'Spyder' surface-to-air missile from a test range in Odisha as part of a series of tests of the short-range quick reaction missile.

The trial was carried out for validating various parameters of the sophisticated weapon system to further strengthen its air defence system, official sources here said.

'Spyder', an acquired missile system from Israel, is a short-range, quick reaction surface-to-air missile designed to strike an enemy air target within a very short time, they said.

The state-of-the-art missile has a strike range of about 15 km in low altitude. However, it is shorter than India's indigenously developed surface-to-air 'Akash' missile, which has a 25 km strike range.

The weapon was test fired from a mobile launcher at launch complex 3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur and targeted a pilot-less target aircraft, the sources said.