India has taken a lead in the development of Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW), & has
become the first country to successfully test it.
This marks a significant achievement by Defense and Research Development Organization (DRDO) of India.
In this video, Defense Updates provides viewers with clear understanding of the weapon and
underlines its impact.
Lets get started.
Aircrafts can only take to sky if the runway is in proper condition. Also bunkers and aircraft
hangers need to be in correct shape for optimum operations. If these are damaged, then even
the most advanced aircrafts become useless.
The most strategically decisive, best known, and first wartime use of specialized anti-runway
weapons was by Israel, during the 1967 Six-Day War.
In a preemptive strike on the first morning of the war the much smaller Israeli Air Force
conducted the strike.
The dibber bombs played a major part in the near complete destruction of the large Egyptian
Air Force, mostly on the ground. The surprising elimination of the Egyptian air force and
resulting Israeli air supremacy contributed significantly to the outcome of the war on
all fronts.
The dibber bombs were not smart weapons and had limited range.
SMART ANTI-AIRFIELD WEAPON is precision weapon with very high accuracy and has an excellent
standoff range.
The government sanctioned 56 crore rupees for the S A A W project in September 2013,
and DRDO started work on it.
S A A W is completely indigenous, from the material to the technology as well as all
the systems and the sub-systems. As per details provided, S A A W weighs around
125-150 kg and has a strike distance of 80-100 km. This long range weapon is Air to Surface.
This will lend a huge power boost to Indian Air Force (IAF) since the high explosive warhead
is capable of destroying even the steel reinforced concrete runways, bunkers and aircraft hangers
of enemy.
This deep penetration capabilities makes it impossible for the enemy aircraft to take
to skies.
This long range weapon is Air to Surface type and can be launched from Jaguar and Su-30
aircraft. In future, the same can be integrated to the French Rafale aircraft being imported
by the Indian Air Force.
The proof of complexity of the weapon can be understood by the fact that no country
has actually tested this type of weapon successfully till now.
It is to be mentioned that with the development of this weapon, India has reached a platform
higher than any other country even the United States of America. US is the only other country
in the process of developing these kind of precision-guided glide bombs, but has failed
to successfully test the same.
The Small Diameter Bombs (SDB) with a weight of 110 kg being developed by US were scheduled
to enter production about two years back, but could not be kicked off despite two different
companies being entrusted with the development in two different phases.
Israel is another country which is trying to develop this, but is yet to taste success
in these weapons.
Its long standoff range of 100 km will allow the Indian Air Force to hit adversary airfields
with high precision from a safe distance.
This will provide India with a huge tactical edge in future battles.
Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar has set a target to raise India’s defense exports
to $2 billion in the next two years from the current $330 million. To know more check the
above card. This weapon also fits right into that endeavor,
as it has potential for export to friendly countries.