On October 29, 2021, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Air Force (IAF) team successfully flight tested India’s first Long-Range Bomb (LRB), with a range of ~50 to 150 kilometres, from an aerial platform Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur in Odisha.
- The LR Bomb has been designed and developed indigenously by Research Centre Imarat (RCI), a DRDO laboratory located at Hyderabad in coordination with other DRDO laboratories.
- It can carry a warhead of 1000 kilograms (1 ton).
Key Points:
i.During the test, the LRB was fired from the IAF’s Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft flying at an altitude of 10 kilometres. Using laser guidance, the bomb hit a target range inside the sea with accuracy within specified limits.
ii.The flight of the bomb and the performance was monitored by a number of range sensors including Electro Optical Tracking System (EOTS), Telemetry and radar .
iii.It should be noted that from the Kargil war (1999) to Operation Bandar in Balakot in 2019, India has been using Israeli laser-guided bombs. Now, this successful LRB test is a force multiplier for India.
Recent defence developments by DRDO:
A few of the many developments by DRDO to boost the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan are as follows:
i.Recently, DRDO and Bharat Dynamics Ltd. (BDL) successfully tested nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni-5 that can hit its target at a range of 5,000 km.
ii.It also successfully tested Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) from the Pokhran range which is capable of hitting ground targets up to a range of 100 kilometres. It is designed to disable airfield runways, and can carry a warhead of 125 kg.
iii.DRDO successfully flight-tested Abhyas High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) from ITR in Chandipur.
iv.In August 2021, DRDO successfully developed Advanced Chaff Technology to offer protection to fighter aircraft of IAF against hostile radar threats.
v.In July 2021, DRDO successfully developed an anti-drone system to neutralize drone attacks from an enemy.
Recent Related News:
On September 3, 2021, Hansa New Generation (NG) aircraft successfully made its maiden flight and all flight parameters were found normal. It is designed and developed by CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research)-National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bengaluru, Karnataka.
About Research Centre Imarat (RCI)-DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation):
Director– Ummalaneni Raja Babu
Headquarter– Hyderabad, Telangana
