The DRDO Glide Bomb is a product of the Defence Research and Development Organisation to deploy a standardised medium range precision guided weapon, especially for engagement of targets from outside the range of standard anti-aircraft defenses, thereby increasing aircraft survivability and minimising friendly losses.
Development
The bomb was designed by the nodal Laboratory Research Centre Imarat[1] in Hyderabad with the help of Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE) in Bengaluru, Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) in Chandigarh and Armaments Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) in Pune.[2][3] The team designed the bomb specially for the Indian Air Force to fill their requirement of precision guided weapons.[2][3]
Variants
Under the DRDO's Long Range Glide Bomb (LRGB) project, 2 variants have been planned:
- Gaurav - The winged version. It has a range of up to 100 km. It contains a pre-fragmented and penetration-blast warhead.[2][4]
- Gautham - The non-winged version. It has a range of 30 km and in future the range will be enhanced to 100 km. It has onboard navigation and guidance systems and contains a pre-fragmented and penetration-blast warhead.[2]
Trials
The DRDO and the Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully tested a 1,000 kg glide bomb on 19 December 2014 that covered a range of 100 km guided through its on-board navigation system. The flight path is of the glide bomb was monitored by DRDO radars and electro-optic systems situated at Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur.[5] On 17 August 2018, the IAF and DRDO did a covert successful trial of Gautham and Gaurav at Pokhran firing range, Jaisalmer.[6]
Long Range Glide Bomb - Gaurav
DRDO and IAF successfully tested Long Range Bomb (LRB) on 29 October 2021 from Su-30MKI at Balasore, Odisha. The bomb was released from 10 km altitude which successfully hit a sea based target using laser guidance. It is a 1,000 kg bomb which DRDO developed as an alternative to Spice 2000. The LRGB is a part of a family of newly developed precision guided munitions with a range of 50 km to 150 km in range.[7]
Operators
See also
- BLU-109 bomb - United States
References
- ↑ DRDO Tests 1000 Kg Class Indigenous Guided Glide Bomb.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedtimesofindia.com - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedndtv.com - ↑ India tests glide bomb. The Hindu(20 December 2014).
- ↑ 1,000-Kg Guided Glide Bomb Tested by DRDO. Indian Defence Review. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
- ↑ 2 smart bombs by DRDO pass test. Deccan Chronicle(2018-10-10). Retrieved 2020-09-23.
- ↑ DRDO, Air Force successfully test India's first indigenously developed long-range bomb. The Indian Express(2021-10-30). Retrieved 2021-10-30.