A New Submarine-Launched Cruise Missile: What We Know So Far About The Weapon India Secretly Tested In February This Year

In February of this year, India secretly tested of a new submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM) that is currently in development.

"The DRDO is developing a submarine-launched cruise missile with land attack and ship attack variants. The missile was testfired in February this year at a range of 402 kilometres and it achieved all mission objectives in the test," news agency ANI has reported.

The missile boasts a range of 500 kilometers and reportedly covered a distance of 402 kilometers during the February test.

Measuring 5.6 meters in length, with a diameter of 505 millimeters and an all-up weight of 975 kilograms, this cruise missile is being designed in two distinct variants: one for land attack and the other for anti-ship operations.

According to the Defence Research and Development Organisation, critical technologies such as thrust vector control, in-flight wing deployment, and in-flight engine start have been successfully validated. Trust vector control will play a pivotal role in manoeuvring the missile onto the target plane.

The SLCM is being developed for the new Air Independent Propulsion-equipped conventional submarines to be built in India.