DRDO conducts maiden flight-tests of Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS) off Odisha
DRDO successfully conducted the maiden flight-tests of the Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS), combining QRSAM, VSHORADS missiles and a laser-based directed energy weapon, off the coast of Odisha on 23 August 2025.
Summary
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted the maiden flight-tests of the Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS) off the coast of Odisha at around 12:30 hrs on 23 August 2025. IADWS is a multi-layered air defence system comprising indigenous Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missiles (QRSAM), Advanced Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) missiles and a high-power laser-based Directed Energy Weapon (DEW), integrated through a Centralised Command and Control Centre developed by the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), the nodal laboratory. VSHORADS was developed by Research Centre Imarat and the DEW by the Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences. Three targets — two high-speed fixed-wing UAVs and a multi-copter drone — were engaged simultaneously and destroyed at different ranges and altitudes, with data captured by the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur.
Key facts
- Date / place
- 23 Aug 2025, ~12:30 hrs, off Odisha coast
- System
- Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS)
- Layers
- QRSAM, VSHORADS, high-power laser DEW
- Nodal lab
- DRDL (Centralised Command and Control Centre)
- Developers
- VSHORADS — RCI; DEW — CHESS
- Targets
- Two high-speed fixed-wing UAVs and a multi-copter drone, engaged simultaneously
- Range
- Integrated Test Range, Chandipur
Practice MCQs 4 questions
DRDO conducted the maiden flight-tests of the Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS) on 23 August 2025 off the coast of which state?
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Correct answer: B — Odisha
DRDO conducted the maiden flight-tests of IADWS off the coast of Odisha at around 1230 hrs on 23 August 2025.
Which of the following is NOT a component of DRDO's Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS) tested in August 2025?
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Correct answer: D — Akash-NG missile
IADWS comprises QRSAM, VSHORADS missiles and a high-power laser-based Directed Energy Weapon (DEW); Akash-NG is not listed as a component.
Which DRDO laboratory is the nodal laboratory of the IADWS programme and developed its Centralised Command and Control Centre?
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Correct answer: C — Defence Research & Development Laboratory
The Centralised Command and Control Centre was developed by the Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), the nodal laboratory of the programme; RCI developed VSHORADS and CHESS the DEW.
Consider the following statements about the IADWS flight-tests of 23 August 2025: 1. VSHORADS was developed by the Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences, and the laser DEW by Research Centre Imarat. 2. Two high-speed fixed-wing UAV targets and a multi-copter drone were engaged simultaneously and destroyed. Which of the above is/are correct?
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Correct answer: B — 2 only
Statement 1 is incorrect: VSHORADS was developed by Research Centre Imarat and the DEW by the Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences. Statement 2 is correct: three targets — two high-speed fixed-wing UAVs and a multi-copter drone — were simultaneously engaged and destroyed.