SANT Missile with ‘lock-on after lunch’ capabilities successfully testfired from Odisha coast

In a major boost for armed forces, India on Monday (October 19) successfully testfired the Stand-off Anti-tank (SANT) Missile off the coast of Odisha. Developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Air Force, the SANT missile will have both Lock-on After Launch and Lock-on Before Launch capability, sources said.

India test fired SANT missile just a day after a successful test of the naval version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. The BrahMos missile was test-fired on Sunday from an indigenously-developed Indian Navy's stealth destroyer INS Chennai.

BrahMos as ‘prime strike weapon’ will ensure the invincibility of INS Chennai by engaging naval surface targets at long ranges, said DRDO. It added that  the successful test-firing of BrahMos will make INS Chennai another lethal platform of Indian Navy.

Notably, BrahMos has been jointly designed, developed and produced by India and Russia.

On September 30, a BrahMos missile having a range of around 400 km was tested from an integrated test range at Balasore in Odisha. A significant number of the original BrahMos missiles are already deployed by India in several strategic locations along the Line of Actual Control with China in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.

BrahMos missiles that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or from land platforms. In 2019, the Indian Air Force successfully test fired the aerial version of the BrahMos missile from a Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft.