Satellite Smart Anti Airfield Weapon
Why in News?
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a landmark ₹810.79 crore contract with Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) on September 23, 2026, for the procurement of 160 Satellite Smart Anti-Airfield Weapons (SAT-SAAW) along with associated equipment for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Key Specifications & Technical Features
- Type of Weapon: It is an air-to-ground, precision-guided, unpowered glide bomb.
- Design & Development: It has been indigenously designed and developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), specifically led by its Research Centre Imarat (RCI).
- Guidance Mechanism: The SAT variant integrates satellite navigation (using GPS / NavIC networks) with an onboard Inertial Navigation System (INS). It eliminates the need for an active seeker, making it difficult for the enemy to jam or intercept.
- Standoff Range: It features a long standoff range of up to 100 kilometres. This allows IAF pilots to release the weapon from a safe distance without entering the envelope of hostile air defence networks.
- Weight & Payload: It belongs to the 120–125 kg weight class and features a high-explosive warhead with deep penetration capabilities.
- Accuracy: The satellite-aided navigation ensures extreme all-weather precision, featuring a Circular Error Probable (CEP) of within 7 metres.
Strategic Objectives & Target Capability
- Primary Function: It is built explicitly to neutralise and ground enemy air force operations by destroying critical ground infrastructure.
- Target Elements: It targets reinforced runways, taxiways, aircraft hangars, radar installations, fuel dump nodes, and heavily reinforced bunkers.
- Cost Efficiency: Being an unpowered glide bomb, it is significantly cheaper than conventional propelled missiles, making it highly viable for large-scale pre-emptive saturation strikes.
Indigenous Components & Aircraft Integration
- Domestic Share: The weapon system boasts an indigenous content of 60%.
- Sub-system Indigenisation: Key sub-assemblies such as the Initial Measurement Unit, Long Impact Delay Fuse, and Twin Store Carrier are entirely manufactured locally.
- Launch Platforms: The weapon has already been flight-tested and validated across multiple IAF platforms, including the SEPECAT Jaguar, Sukhoi Su-30MKI, and the Hawk-i aircraft. Future integration plans include the entire fighter fleet, such as the Dassault Rafale.
