DRDO's Smart Anti Airfield Weapon

Why In News?

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has conducted a successful trial of the indigenously developed Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW). This is the 9th test successfully conducted over the last five years.

A Defence Ministry press statement read, “The smart weapon was successfully test-fired from Indian Hawk-Mk132 of HAL. This was the ninth successful mission of SAAW conducted by DRDO till now. It was a textbook launch, which met all the mission objectives. The telemetry and tracking systems installed at the Interim Test Range (ITR), Balasore captured all the mission events.”

SAAW: Features

1. Its development began around 2012-13, and crucial inputs from the Indian Air Force and the first test was carried out in 2016. 

2. The Defence Research and Development Organization, DRDO conducted a successful trial of the indigenously developed Smart Anti Airfield Weapon, SAAW off the Odisha coast from the Hawk-i jet of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. 

3. The weapon has been designed to strike ground targets, especially adversary airfield infrastructure or similar strategically important installations. 

4. SAAW was designed and developed by DRDO's Research Centre Imarat, RCI Hyderabad. 

5. It is a 125-kilogram class smart weapon, capable of engaging ground enemy airfield assets such as radars, bunkers, taxi tracks, and runaways, upto a range of 100 kilometres. 

6. The high precision-guided bomb is lightweight compared to a weapon system of the same class. 

7. The ninth successful test of the system conducted over the last five years. 

8. This time HAL Hawk-1 was used, which expanded the operating scope of a weapons system.

9. The Government of India plans to integrate the weapon with the Dassault Rafale. Earlier the tests from Jaguar. 

Details On SAAW

1. Officials said the system belongs to the glide bomb category and its development began around 2012-13, with crucial inputs from the Indian Air Force and the first test was carried out in 2016. 

2. The weapon is designed to strike ground targets, especially adversary airfield infrastructure or similar strategically important installations.

3. It was a textbook launch, which met all the mission objectives. 

4. The telemetry and tracking systems installed at the Interim Test Range (ITR), Balasore captured all the mission events.

Significance of The Tests

The test of SAAW has come after another weapon system designed to target the enemy radar and communication assets, Rudram. It was tested in October in 2020. 

Rudram is an air to surface missile designed and developed by DRDO. It has been initiated for the development of anti-radiation missiles of this type around eight years ago and its integration with fighter jets and has been a collaborative effort of various DRDO facilities and formations of the IAF and HAL. 

What Is An Anti-Radiation Missile

These are designed to detect, track and neutralise the adversary's radar, communication assets and other radio frequency sources that are generally a part of their air defence systems.