In yet another significant development concerning country’s defense capability, Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO, successfully flight-tested the maiden flight of Long Range Glide Bomb, LRGB, ‘GAURAV’. GAURAV is a 1,000 kg class air-launched glide bomb, designed to strike targets at long distances with high accuracy. Launched with an accurate hybrid navigation system that combines INS with GPS updates, the bomb is guided towards its target. That’s what has given GAURAV the advanced technology to achieve precision target hits, as borne out by the flight test conducted.

The bomb was designed and developed indigenously by the Research Centre Imarat in Hyderabad, a key milestone in India’s push for self-reliance in defense technology. The tests have seen the GAURAV bomb detect a target at Long Wheeler’s Island with fine accuracy. The flight was monitored and data captured through telemetry and electro-optical tracking systems laid along the coast by the Integrated Test Range. The test was conducted under the close vigil of senior scientists of DRDO, with participation from Adani Defence and Bharat Forge, who are Development-cum-Production Partners for this project.

The Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, congratulated DRDO, IAF, and the associated Industry Partners on the successful flight test. He congratulated the feat as a major milestone in the country’s quest to develop indigenous defence technologies, stating that such Industry-driven efforts will go a long way in augmenting the Indian Armed Forces’ operational capabilities.