India has achieved a significant milestone in defence sector by conducting successful flight test of RudraM-II air-to-surface missile from an airborne platform from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur.
The missile was guided to a predefined target with pin-point accuracy. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has praised the efforts of DRDO, IAF, other agencies linked to the indegenous missile programme and the industry for the successful flight test.
RudraM-II Missile
RudraM is a series of indegenous air-to-surface missiles that are being developed to meet the Indian Air Force’s requirement for enhancing its Suppression of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD) capability.
It is an anti-radiation missile which is designed to target enemy radar, communication systems and other radio-frequency sources that form part of hostile air-defence networks. So far, three variants of RudraM missile, RudraM-I, RudraM-II and RudraM-III, have been developed, with comprehensive testing of the first and second variants carried out earlier.
RudraM-II has been indegenously developed by DRDO in collaboration with several other DRDO establishments.
Features of Rudram-II
- Its maximum speed can reach a peak speed of Mach 5.5.
- It is capable of striking targets at a distance of approximately 300 km.
- It can carry a warhead up to 200 kg.
- It can be deployed from aircraft flying at altitudes ranging from 3 to 15 km, Su-30MKI fighter aircraft.
- It is intended to eventually replace the older Russian-origin Kh-31 anti-radiation missiles and serving as a key force multiplier for the Indian Air Force.
