The DRDO successfully flight-tested the Long-Range Land Attack Cruise Missile (LR-LACM) from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha, on June 15, 2026, using a mobile articulated launcher.
The missile was last tested on November 12, 2024, during its maiden flight. That test was also conducted from a mobile articulated launcher.
During its maiden test, the missile followed the desired flight path using waypoint navigation and demonstrated its ability to perform various manoeuvres while flying at different altitudes and speeds.
The LR-LACM flies a terrain-hugging or sea-skimming profile to avoid radar detection. It can navigate using waypoints and modify its flight profile to avoid adversary air-defence zones, terrain features, and other obstacles.
The missile can execute precision strikes against static targets using an RF seeker for terminal homing, similar to the one developed for the BrahMos missile.
The DAC accorded approval for the acquisition of the LR-LACM for the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force on July 2, 2020.
The LR-LACM is a derivative of the ITCM (Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile).
ITCM
The ITCM was a technology-demonstrator project, while the LR-LACM is intended for operational deployment.
The ITCM itself was derived from the Nirbhay missile. During DefExpo 2020, DRDO announced that it had completed and closed the Nirbhay capability-development project.
The ITCM featured a small turbofan engine named Manik, developed by GTRE, and an indigenously developed RF seeker for terminal guidance. The Nirbhay lacked a terminal seeker and was powered by a Russian turbofan engine.
The ITCM was last flight-tested successfully on April 17, 2024, with the Manik turbofan engine and all other subsystems, including the RF seeker. According to DRDO, the ITCM has a range of 1,000 km and carries a 300 kg warhead. It weighs 1,500 kg and is 6 metres long.
LR-LACM Features
The LR-LACM is dimensionally similar to the ITCM. However, it is believed to be significantly lighter, at around one tonne, and to have a longer range of up to 1,500 km. It is also likely capable of executing more complex flight profiles.
With a range of up to 1,500 km, the LR-LACM would allow India to hold high-value targets at risk deep inside adversary territory. Its nap-of-the-Earth profile and waypoint navigation capability would allow it to easily exploit gaps in the low level coverage of adversary radars.
The LR-LACM is configured for launch from the ground using mobile articulated launchers and from frontline warships using the UVLM (Universal Vertical Launcher Module). Developed and patented by BrahMos Aerospace, the UVLM is already deployed on 30 Indian Navy warships for launching BrahMos missiles.
Since the DAC has also approved acquisition of the LR-LACM for the Indian Air Force, it is likely that an air-launched variant of the missile is under development and could be tested in the near future.
Besides the LR-LACM, DRDO is developing another derivative of the ITCM—the Sea-Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM), which will be capable of launching from a standard 533 mm submarine torpedo tube.
SLCM
The SLCM (Submarine Launched Cruise Missile) will need to be shorter and lighter to make it compatible with torpedo-tube launch. Consequently, it is expected to feature a smaller 250 kg penetration-cum-blast or airburst warhead.
DRDO plans to initially flight-test the SLCM from a Russian-origin Sindhughosh-class (Kilo-class) submarine.
According to media reports, DRDO successfully validated submarine-launch capability in February 2023 during a developmental missile launch from an underwater platform. The missile tested covered a range of 402 km.
The test was reportedly aimed at validating critical underwater-launch processes, including wing deployment after surfacing and engine start during flight.
Looking Ahead
The operational deployment of the LR-LACM, which now appears to be only a matter of time, will represent a significant milestone in India's quest for missile self-reliance, signalling the maturation of DRDO's ability to develop and deploy indigenous cruise missiles capable of operating from multiple platforms.
In the near future, DRDO could further enhance the missile's penetration capability and lethality by equipping it with self-protection modules featuring radar jammers to disrupt RF-guided interceptors and dispensers for decoy submunitions—such as dipole reflectors and heat traps—to create false targets during the terminal phase of flight. The addition of optical sensors for navigation and target recognition could also make the missile more resilient against electronic warfare measures aimed at spoofing or jamming GNSS signals.
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