DRDO Conducts Flight Test Of 'Gaurav' Long Range Glide Bomb From Sukhoi Su-30 MKI

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) yesterday (13 August) conducted the inaugural flight test of the Gaurav long-range glide bomb (LRGB).

The bomb, weighing 1,000 kilograms or 1 tonne, was drop-tested from an Indian Air Force's (IAF) Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighter jet.

The test was carried out from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha. The glide bomb, after separation from the Su-30 MKI, travelled a long distance and precisely destroyed its target.

Gaurav uses an Inertial Navigation System (INS) corrected using a satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS) guidance system, making the system highly accurate and precise.

Unlike free-fall bombs, Gaurav glide bombs have wings mounted on their surface, which allows the bomb to glide and extend its range.

It is estimated that it can strike targets at ranges of more than 100 kilometres when launched at high altitudes (more than 40,000 feet).

Gaurav LRGB is similar to Israeli Spice glide bombs that were used by the Indian Air Force's (IAF) Mirage 2000 jets to strike the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror training camp at Jabba Top in Pakistan during the Balakot airstrikes.

Although the Spice family of bombs has a different and more capable guidance system, they still use wings to extend their ranges to more than 60 kilometres.

In comparison, free-fall bombs like the American Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM)-equipped GBU-31/32 or DRDO-developed high-speed low-drag (HSLD) bombs, when launched from high altitude, only have a maximum range of 30 kilometres.

These long-range bombs allow IAF jets to stay far away from the engagement zones of air defence systems, increasing the survivability of the launching, and making them a low-cost alternative to long-range missiles or artillery rockets.