India’s first attempt at indigenously developing an anti-radiation missile (ARM) is now gathering momentum, with scientists at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) gearing up to move forward with pending trials of the high-tech New Generation Anti-Radiation Missile (NGARM) without any more delay, reports The Week.

The Indian Air Force (IAF), which is the intended user for the weapon, wants the DRDO to fast-track the whole process.

The first trial of the NGARM was already conducted by test-firing it from a Sukhoi-30MKI over the Bay of Bengal on 18 January.

At that trial run, testing of specifics such as control guidance, aerodynamics and propulsion without a seeker was conducted.

Work on the NGARM project goes back to 2012, when feasibility studies on the new missile were initiated. A missile configuration was evolved based on the reports of these studies.

The NGARM is aimed at providing tactical air superiority capability to aircraft armed with it.

Currently, the ARMs are the AARGM (AGM-88E) from the US, Kh-31P developed by Russia, and Mar-1 of Brazil. All these weapons have range till about 100 kms. India’s NGARM too, will be able to hit targets within a similar range.

ARMs are a specialised kind of weapon which are particularly aimed at destroying or suppressing enemy systems which generate radiation, for example surveillance radars or fire control radars.

Hyderabad-based DRDL is the nodal agency undertaking the NGARM project, with supporting from a number of labs of the DRDO.

An air force official spoke of the urgency of the requirement for the NGARM, stating, “.....we need to get the missile on time. The DRDO getting into this is good news, but they have been at it for five years. They have not yet mastered the technology for the sensors, which is the most critical part”.