Work on Naval Anti Ship Missile (NASM) developed by DRDO has been completed and integration with Sea King helicopter has begun.
DRDO was in the process of developing a Naval Short Range Anti shipping Missile (NASM-SR) with an estimated range of 55 km for use with Sea King helicopters and eventually equipped with MH-60R helicopters or maybe in future in Dhruv helicopter.
The existence of the Naval Anti-Ship Missile NASM SR was revealed in 2018 in the Lok Sabha. Raksha Mantri Nirmala Sitharaman named this in the list of DRDO developments and those at other Indian institutions over the past three years (January 2016-December 2018). Initial details were unveiled at the DefExpo 2020. This project is possibly being developed for a number of platforms, having different ranges. ‘SR’, or Short Range, means that development of other longer range versions is expected as well.
According to DRDO, the NASM-SR will be a 380 kg projectile with a maximum range of 55 km and will be initially used with the Indian Navy’s Sea King helicopters, which will replace the earlier Sea Eagle missiles. As the Sea King itself is nearing the end of its service life, it can be expected that the new indigenous missile will be in service with the Navy’s future helicopters.
According to DRDO, the NASM-SR will be a 380 kg projectile with a maximum range of 55 km and used initially with Indian Navy Sea King helicopters, replacing the earlier Sea Eagle missiles. As the Sea King itself is approaching the end of its service life, it may be expected that the new indigenous missile will be in service with future helicopters of the Navy.
The Indian Navy is currently procuring MH-60R helicopters for multi-role purposes and these will be equipped with Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile. Further, for the Indian Navy’s IMRH acquisition, MBDA pitched its Sea Venom which has a range of 25 km and also the Marte ER which can reach more than 100 km.
The NASM SR could certainly be considered for these potent platforms. The long range version of the NASM may have a range excess of 150 km, enabling engagement of hostile targets from stand-off distances. At the DRDO exhibit at Aero India 2019 were several posters of a one-tonne class medium range air launched cruise missile, though little was revealed about this unnamed stealth missile.
The American-made MH-60R helicopter is due to arrive in July 2022 which is a multi-role platform and is to be equipped with the Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile. In addition, for the Indian Navy’s IMRH acquisition, MBDA pitched its Sea Venom, which has a range of 25 km as well as the Marte-ER which can reach over 100 km. For these powerful platforms NASM-SR can definitely be considered. The long-range version of the NASM could have a range in excess of 150 km, to engage hostile targets from stand-off distances. The DRDO exhibition at Aero India 2019 had several posters of the one ton class medium-range air-launched cruise missile, though little was known about this unnamed stealth missile.
The Indian Navy is also in the market for the new Medium-Range Anti-Ship Missile (MRAShM) for 24 current and future warships, as detailed by Livefist – three Delhi-class destroyers, four Kora-class missile corvettes and six New Next Generation Missile Vessels (NGMV) that will enter service in the next decade. The other anti-ship missiles currently in service with the Indian Navy are the Boeing Harpoon Block-III in the P-8I Poseidon fleet.