SOURCE: AFI
In a significant update on India’s advanced defense programs, Dr. Samir V. Kamat, Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), announced that trials for the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRAShM), a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), are expected to conclude within the next two to three years.
Speaking to NDTV on the sidelines of a defense technology review in June 2025, Dr. Kamat highlighted the rapid progress of India’s hypersonic missile program, positioning the country among global leaders in cutting-edge military technology. The LRAShM, successfully tested on November 16, 2024, from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha’s coast, is set to enhance the Indian Navy’s maritime strike capabilities and provide a multi-role platform for all three branches of the Indian Armed Forces.
The LRAShM is a hypersonic missile designed to travel at speeds exceeding Mach 5, combining the blistering velocity of a ballistic missile with the maneuverability of a cruise missile. Developed by DRDO’s Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex in Hyderabad, in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and industry partners like Sterling Techno-Systems, the missile features a delta-wing HGV mounted on a booster rocket. This configuration allows it to reach speeds of up to Mach 10—approximately 12,144 km/h—and perform complex terminal maneuvers, making it nearly impossible to intercept by existing missile defense systems. With a demonstrated range exceeding 1,500 km, the LRAShM can carry various payloads, including conventional and nuclear warheads, for anti-ship and land-attack roles.
The missile’s first successful flight test in November 2024, monitored by multiple tracking systems, showcased its ability to execute precise terminal maneuvers and strike targets with pinpoint accuracy. Unlike traditional ballistic missiles, which follow predictable arcs, the LRAShM’s HGV glides through the atmosphere at lower altitudes, evading radar detection and enhancing its survivability against anti-missile defenses. Its cold-launch system, using a hermetically sealed canister and control thrusters, enables rapid deployment from land-based transporter erector launchers (TELs) and, in future variants, naval platforms.
The LRAShM’s primary role as an anti-ship missile addresses critical operational needs in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), where India faces growing maritime threats from China’s expanding naval fleet, including its three aircraft carriers (Liaoning, Shandong, and Fujian), and Pakistan’s Chinese-built Hangor-class submarines. The missile’s ability to engage warships at ranges exceeding 1,500 km, with a travel time of just seven to eight minutes, provides the Indian Navy with a decisive first-strike capability. Its RF seeker, effective at hypersonic speeds, ensures precision strikes against moving naval targets, complementing the Navy’s supersonic BrahMos and subsonic Long-Range Land Attack Cruise Missile (LRLACM).
Beyond its naval role, the LRAShM is designed as a multi-service platform, with land-attack variants planned for the Indian Army and Air Force as part of the proposed Integrated Rocket Force. This versatility enables it to target high-value assets deep within enemy territory, such as command centers, airfields, or infrastructure, across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China or in Pakistan. The missile’s development aligns with India’s strategic need to counter regional adversaries’ advanced systems, including China’s DF-17 HGV (Mach 10-12) and Pakistan’s pursuit of modern missile technologies.
Dr. Kamat’s announcement that LRAShM trials will conclude within two to three years reflects DRDO’s confidence in the missile’s maturity. The November 2024 test, which achieved Mach 10, surpassed initial estimates of Mach 6-7, building on the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) tested in 2020 at Mach 6. The HSTDV validated critical technologies like scramjet propulsion, thermal management, and high-temperature materials, laying the groundwork for the LRAShM’s advanced capabilities. DRDO’s ?400 crore Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) facility in Hyderabad, operational since October 2019, has been instrumental in testing aerodynamic designs at speeds up to Mach 12.
NOTE: AFI is a proud outsourced content creator partner of IDRW.ORG. All content created by AFI is the sole property of AFI and is protected by copyright. AFI takes copyright infringement seriously and will pursue all legal options available to protect its content.