Dikhyaa Mohanty 
India successfully test-fired Smart AntiAirfield Weapon (SAAW) from Hawk-i aircraft off Odisha coast. The state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited brought a significant success by boosting self-reliance in aerospace and aeronautics industry.
The indigenously developed SAAW stand-off smart weapon which is incubated by Defence Research and Development Organisation’s Research Centre Imarat (RCI) is the first weapon to be fired from Hawk-Mk132 aircraft built by the State-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
In an official statement, HAL stated that this is the first test conducted from the Hawk-i aircraft and the results were on the anticipated line when it hit the target with exactness.
HAL test pilots Wg Cdr (Retd) P Awasthi and Wg Cdr (Retd) M Patel flown the aircraft and executed the weapon release in a test book manner, and all mission purposes were sufficed. The 1.85-metre long weapon with a dummy warhead was released from the aircraft flying at about one km above the surface, and it floated over the sea before zeroing on the pre-designated target area at about 100 km away.
As per ANI reports, the telemetry and tracking systems captured all mission events confirming the test flight’s success. ,” R Madhavan, CMD, HAL, said, “The Company owned Hawk-i platform is being extensively used for certification of systems and weapons developed indigenously by DRDO and CSIR labs.”
It is an aircraft-launched, advanced accuracy strike weapon of 125 kg category used to attack and slaughter enemy airfield assets such as radars, bunkers, taxi tracks and runways within a range of 100 km.
The company owned Hawk-i platform is being widely used for certification of systems and weapons developed by DRDO and CSIR labs.
The Hawk-i is HAL’s internally endowed programme allowing the Indian Armed Forces an upgrade and combat capability for the Hawk aircraft, transforming it into an advanced jet trainer providing training on sensors and weapons in peacetime and into a powerful combat platform during the conflict.
Director of Engineering and R&D Arun Chatterjee stated that the HAL is enhancing the training and combat capability of Hawk-i.
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