India has conducted the maiden flight trial of a gravity bomb range-extension kit designed to convert unguided bombs into precision-guided munitions.
The Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation (TARA) system is intended to provide New Delhi with an indigenous aerial warfare capability currently fulfilled by foreign systems such as Israel’s SPICE precision-guided bomb kit.
State-owned Research Centre Imarat developed the system for the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) inventory of high-speed, low-drag, and general-purpose “dumb bombs,” according to The New Indian Express.
Following production, TARA is expected to be integrated across the IAF’s fighter fleet, including the Jaguar, Mirage 2000, Sukhoi Su-30MKI, and the indigenous Tejas aircraft, the outlet added.
With an indigenous capability available, India would be able to procure the systems in larger quantities at lower cost.
“TARA is broadly comparable to the Israeli-origin SPICE precision-guided bomb kits already operational with the IAF,” The New Indian Express quoted an unnamed source as saying.
“However, the homegrown system is expected to substantially reduce costs while allowing the air force to utilise existing bomb stockpiles instead of procuring entirely new missile inventories.”
Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation
Once released, the system’s deployable wings and tail assembly enable the munition to glide over extended distances, while inertial navigation, GPS-assisted guidance, and electro-optical seekers improve strike accuracy.
The system is reportedly being developed in multiple weight classes, including 250-kilogram (551-pound) and 500-kilogram (1,102-pound) variants. It is expected to enable strikes at ranges of up to 180 kilometers (112 miles) when released from an altitude of 5 kilometers (3 miles).
Moreover, the system is reportedly designed to achieve a circular error probability of less than five meters (16.4 feet).
“With TARA, fighters can strike heavily defended targets without entering the engagement envelope of hostile air-defense systems, a requirement increasingly central to contemporary air warfare,” The New Indian Express quoted an unnamed source as saying.
