DRDO and IAF test long-range bomb from fighter aircraft
The flight test was monitored by equipment at the ITR in Chandipur, Odisha, India.
A team of India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in partnership with the Indian Air Force (IAF) has tested the Long-Range Bomb (LRB).
The joint flight test was conducted on 29 October to evaluate the performance of the indigenously developed LRB.
During testing, the LRB was launched from an IAF fighter aircraft and precision-guided within specified limits to a land-based target at a long range.
The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that the LRB testing fulfilled all the mission objectives.
It was monitored by the equipment installed at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha, India.
Several range sensors such as electro-optical tracking system (EOTS), radar and telemetry systems tracked the flight.
The LRB has been designed and developed by DRDO’s Hyderabad laboratory Research Centre Imarat (RCI), with coordination from other laboratories of the agency.
Indian Defence minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO, IAF and other teams associated with the flight test.
Directorate of Defence Research and Development Secretary and DRDO chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy said: “Successful flight test of Long-Range Bomb has marked an important milestone in indigenous development of this class of systems.”
Recently, DRDO flight-tested the high-speed expendable aerial target (HEAT), Abhyas, from the ITR centre in Chandipur.
Abhyas is designed and developed by DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment as a HEAT system in Bengaluru, India.