GS-3: Science and Technology- developments

Key Phrases: SMART system, torpedo, Supersonic missile, DRDO, Anti-submarine,

Why in News:

• The country has successfully test-fired a long-range Supersonic Missile Assisted Torpedo (SMART) off the coast of Balasore in Odisha. The SMART system will help India enhance its anti-submarine warfare capability.

What is the SMART system?

• SMART stands for the Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo.
• SMART is a missile-assisted release of lightweight Anti-Submarine Torpedo System for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) operations far beyond torpedo range.
• It takes off like a regular supersonic missile when launched from a warship or a truck-based coastal battery.
• Most of its flight in the air is covered at lower altitudes with two-way data link from the warship or an airborne submarine target detection system.
• It is also provided the exact location of the hostile submarine to correct its flight path midway.
• When it approaches close to a submerged submarine, the missile would eject the torpedo system into the water and the torpedo will start moving towards its target to hit the submarine.
• DRDO undertook a project to build capacity to launch torpedos assisted by missiles in the mid-2010. The first known flight test of the system was conducted on 4 October, 2020 (Monday).

Functioning of SMART

• When it had been launched from a warship or a truck-based coastal battery, it takes off like a regular supersonic missile.
• In the air, it covers most of its flight at lower altitudes with a two-way data link from the warship or an airborne submarine target detection system.
• The exact location of the hostile submarine is also provided by it basically to correct its flight path midway.
• When it comes closer to the submerged submarine, the missile will eject the torpedo system into the water. And then the torpedo will start moving towards its target to take out the submarine.

Why is SMART torpedo system a ‘game changer’?

• The system will change anti-submarine warfare tactics to a large extent, if not completely.
  • One of the most potent threats to surface ships is an undetected submarine and now with the SMART, we have removed the surface ship from the weapon danger zone of a submarine.
  • The technology of SMART provides security of standoff ranges when prosecuting a submarine threat. “While the act of detecting submarines will still pose a challenge, but once detected, the SMART would be an unbridled threat to the submarine.”
  • The SMART will give Indian warships and shore-based units a crucial standoff tool in the face of growing submarine threat from adversaries like China and Pakistan.
  • With its maximum range of 650 km, a first for such a class of weapon in the world, the DRDO has handed the Indian Navy a significant leap in engagement capabilities,
  • The Indian Navy theoretically now has a quick response measure to effectively saturate the Gwadar and Karachi ports at will, as well as blockade the Malacca strait at the first hint of Chinese submarines spotted by Indian satellites, MR aircraft, ships and other ISR assets
  • It would only be logical to evolve the SMART to carry a heavy weight torpedo (HWT) towards interception of surface vessels in future. This will provide the navy with a potential capability to target enemy vessels threatening the sea lines of communication (SLOCs) in the Indian Ocean Region.

Source: Livemint

Mains Question:

Q. What is SMART System Warfare? How it increase India’s capabilities against threats in Indian Ocean Region?