India showcases new hypersonic missile in military parade

India's LR-AShM is pictured during the country's 77th Republic Day parade at Kartavya Path in New Delhi on 26 January. (Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images)

India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) showcased its new Long Range Anti-Ship Hypersonic Missile (LR-AshM) in a military parade to mark the country's 77th Republic Day on 26 January.

The LR-AshM, which is under development and incorporates a two‑stage solid‑propellant rocket motor system, was among several new military platforms displayed at the event held on Kartavya Path in New Delhi.

Other new systems seen in the parade included unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), an artillery platform, and a surveillance system.

According to India's Ministry of Defence (MoD), the LR-AshM has been designed by the DRDO to meet the “coastal battery” requirements of the Indian Navy.

“The LR-AShM is a hypersonic glide missile capable of engaging static and moving targets and is designed to carry various payloads,” the MoD said on 22 January in a press release, detailing new equipment to be displayed at the Republic Day parade. “The missile is a first of its kind with indigenous avionics systems and high-accuracy sensor packages.”

The MoD added that the hypersonic missile has been designed to “follow a quasi-ballistic trajectory with hypersonic speeds starting at Mach 10 and maintaining average Mach 5 with multiple skips”.

It added that the LR-AshM is fitted with indigenously developed sensors that are intended to “engage moving targets in the terminal phase”.

“As this missile flies in low altitude with high speed and manoeuvrability, enemy ground- and ship-based radars cannot detect this missile during most of its trajectory,” the MoD said.