Indian Navy successfully test-fires naval anti-ship missile

NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy on Wednesday successfully carried out the maiden test firing of the first indigenously developed naval anti-ship missile from a Seaking helicopter, officials said.

The test was conducted at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Odisha's Balasore.

"This firing is a significant step towards achieving self-reliance in niche missile technology and reaffirms the Indian Navy's commitment to indigenisation," said a senior Navy official.

The Indian Navy carried out the test in association with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

#WATCH | Indian Navy in association with DRDO successfully undertook the maiden firing of the first indigenously developed Naval Anti-Ship Missile from Seaking 42B helicopter on 18 May at ITR Balasore, Odisha pic.twitter.com/mFhJJl5NQO

— ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2022

On Twitter, the Indian Navy released a brief video of the Seaking 42B helicopter firing the missile.

The test-firing of the new missile came over a month after an anti-ship version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test-fired jointly by the Indian Navy and the Andaman and Nicobar Command.

The Indian Navy has been steadily enhancing its overall combat capability to effectively protect India's maritime security interests, particularly in the Indian Ocean region.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday launched two frontline warships of the Indian Navy.

The ships -- INS Surat and INS Udaygiri -- were launched at the Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL) in Mumbai.

INS Surat is the fourth guided-missile destroyer of the P15B class, while INS Udaygiri is the second stealth frigate of the P17A class.