Long-range surface to air missile successfully test fired off Odisha coast; Nirmala Sitharaman calls it major milestone

New Delhi: The long-range surface-to-air missile — LRSAM — was Thursday “successfully” test-fired from a warship off the coast of Odisha against an aerial target, a significant milestone in enhancing the Navy’s anti-air warfare capability. [caption id=“attachment_5296901” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. PTI[/caption] “Ship launched Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM) has been successfully test fired from INS Chennai against an incoming aerial target flying at low altitude, today,” the defence ministry said. It said the missile destroyed the target with a direct hit and that all the mission objectives have been met during the test-firing. LRSAM has been jointly developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India and M/s Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for the Indian Navy. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman congratulated DRDO, Indian Navy and associated team members on the successful test-fire of the missile. “India achieves a significant milestone with successful flight test of LRSAM on board INS Chennai. The missile directly hit a low flying aerial target,” Sitharaman tweeted.