India conducts successful flight-test of Indigenous technology cruise missile

Indian defense authorities on Thursday announced successful flight-test of an indigenous technology cruise missile. The Indian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the Defence Research and Development Organisation conducted successful flight-test of Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile from the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur off the coast of eastern Indian state of Odisha. The performance of the missile was monitored by several range sensors including radar, electro optical tracking system and telemetry deployed at different locations, it said. The Su-30-Mk-I aircraft of the Indian Air Force also monitored the flight. All subsystems performed as per expectation, added the statement. "The missile followed the desired path and demonstrated very low altitude sea-skimming flight," it said. Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh hailed the successful flight-test of the missile and congratulated the scientists for successful development of indigenous long-range subsonic cruise missile, saying it is a m ajor milestone for Indian defence research and development. India is engaged for decades in an arms race with its rivals China and Pakistan as New Delhi conducts periodic testing of missiles developed to strengthen its arsenal against any possible enemy attacks of its cities. Source: Kuwait News Agency