Smart Anti-Airfield Weapons (SAAWs) can hit a variety of ground targets using precision navigation and are more precise and cheaper than missiles, the Defence Research and Development Organisation claimed. The glide bomb is expected to lower the Indian Air Force's dependency on imported air armaments

New Delhi — India claimed that its domestically manufactured smart anti-Airfield weapons (SAAWs) had achieved all mission objectives during recent tests conducted from an Indian Air Force aircraft. Until now, the weapons have undergone eight developmental trials demonstrating its performance under multiple launch conditions at different ranges.

"The weapon system was integrated with a live warhead and has destroyed the targets with high precision. The telemetry and tracking systems captured all the mission events. A total of three tests with different release conditions were conducted during 16 to 18 August 2018 and all the mission objectives have been achieved," a statement issued by the Indian Defence Ministry reads.

An Indian navy helicopter approaches an Indian navy ship while displaying rescue skills during a joint naval exercise with the Sri Lankan navy in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka (File)

In the last two years, the weapon has accomplished precision strike capabilities in different weather conditions. This weapon's guidance system corrects its course and is able to maneuver effectively despite variations in wind conditions.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) claimed that the bombs would be much cheaper than missiles or rockets, as they use an aircraft's propulsion. 

"This is a sort of guided bomb and it will be much cheaper than a missile or rocket, the reason being that it is not having propulsion, it is making use of the aircraft's propulsion. It can go and land in a place we want," a former chief of the DRDO stated last year.