Smart Anti Airfield Weapon

Context: DRDO successfully conducted captive and release trial of indigenously developed Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) from Hawk-I of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) off the Odisha coast on 21 January 2021.

• The smart weapon was successfully test fired from Indian Hawk-Mk132 of HAL.
• This was the 9th successful mission of SAAW conducted by DRDO till now.
• It was a text book launch, which met all mission objectives.
• The telemetry and tracking systems installed at Interim Test Range (ITR), Balasore captured all the mission events.

SAAW

• It is indigenously designed and developed by DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat (RCI) Hyderabad.
• This is 125 Kg class smart weapon, capable of engaging ground enemy airfield assets such as radars, bunkers, taxi tracks, and runways etc. up to a range of 100 kms.
• The high precision guided bomb is light weight as compared to weapon system of the same class.
• The weapon was earlier successfully test fired from Jaguar aircraft.

Indian Hawk-Mk132

• The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft.
• It has been used in a training capacity and as a low-cost combat aircraft.
• The Hawk is still in production in the UK and under licence in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1691176