India on Tuesday successfully test-fired the short-range Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) off the Odisha coast.  The missile was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in cooperation with Bharat Electronics Limited and Bharat Dynamics Limited for the Indian Armed Forces (IAF). The short-range missile was launched from a canister mounted on a rotatable truck-based launch unit at Chandipur Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Balasore. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) congratulated its scientists associated with the project later in the day.

QRSAM has been indigenously developed by India to replace the ‘Akash’ missile defence system which is on its way out due to obsolence in technology. The missile has 360-degree coverage, lightweight, high mobility and shorter second reaction time as compared to ‘Akash’. It also uses solid fuel propellant and has a stated range of strike range of 25-30 km with the capability of hitting multiple targets.

In most suitable technical advantage, the missile which has been test fired today is capable of hitting the low flying objects. The QRSAM test-fire came hours after the IAF launched airstrikes at various terror camps across the Line of Control (LoC). As per reports, the Air Force demolished entire terror set up in the suicide bombing training centre in Pakistan's Balakot where as many as 300 terrorists were eliminated in the covert operation.

Pakistan, however, claims that the IAF fighter jets did cross the LoC but returned after the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) scrambled warplanes. The neighbouring country has clarified that the IAF jets dropped bombs within Balakote region of the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).