SMART {Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo} is an advanced, missile-based system for delivering lightweight torpedoes

It is designed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)

The SMART system enhances India's capacity to handle underwater threats

SMART {Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo} is an advanced, missile-based system for delivering lightweight torpedoes, designed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). This system enhances the anti-submarine warfare capabilities of the Indian Navy.

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India has successfully carried out a flight test of its homegrown SMART system, an anti-submarine missile, from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island near the coast of Balasore, Odisha.

The SMART system enhances India’s capacity to handle underwater threats and bolster its anti-submarine warfare capabilities through advanced technology and local innovation.

Key advantages that distinguish SMART from competing technologies 

• Engineered by DRDO,  SMART is essentially a sophisticated missile system designed to detect and destroy submarines from a long distance. It’s launched from a special container, either on a ship or a truck, and flies using its two stage solid -propellant rocket engine. Once launched, it can travel over 400 miles (643 kms ) before releasing a small torpedo, which can move independently to hunt down submarines.This torpedo can then independently travel an additional 20 km to hunt down submarines.

The missile also carries a 50 kg high-explosive warhead, which provides significant destructive power upon reaching its target. The missile uses advanced technology to change its direction during flight, ensuring accuracy. This system allows missiles to be fired from both coastal areas and ships, giving flexible defense options against underwater threats.

• The test confirmed the effectiveness of several high-tech features, including even separation, ejection, and speed management.
• SMART has a special communication known a two-way-datalink  system that allows it to connect and exchange information with systems that are either on aircraft or ships. These systems are designed to find and identify submarines. This means that SMART can receive updates and instructions from these systems while it’s in the air, helping it to accurately locate and target submarines.
• The goal of the project is to create a fast-response system capable of launching a torpedo from a long distance away.

• The missile employs a sea-skimming technique to decrease its detection distance.

Sea skimming refers to the technique used by some missiles to fly very close to the surface of the water. This approach helps the missile avoid radar detection by blending in with the sea’s clutter, which is the radar noise generated by waves and other surface disturbances. By maintaining a low altitude, the missile minimizes its visibility on enemy radar systems, increasing the likelihood of reaching its target undetected.

A torpedo is a self-propelled underwater missile designed to explode on contact or in proximity to a target, such as a ship or submarine. Torpedoes can be launched from a variety of platforms, including submarines, surface ships, aircraft, and even from shore-based installations. They travel through water to reach their intended target, guided by sophisticated systems that allow them to adjust their trajectory and depth.

(The author Girish Linganna of this article is a Defence, Aerospace & Political Analyst based in Bengaluru. He is also Director of ADD Engineering Components, India, Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. You can reach out to him at: [email protected])