Platform profile · India · Mobile short-range surface-to-air missile system · Indian Army
The August 2026 blanket approval opens DRDO technology transfer for all conventional missiles, including QRSAM, to Indian industry; BEL's April 2026 Chitrakoot factory plan includes QRSAM, while the reported Army tender remains in procurement.
On April 8, 2026, BEL's plan for a more than INR 600 crore Chitrakoot manufacturing facility explicitly included QRSAM among its future programmes. Indian media reported in September 2025 that the Army had issued BEL an approximately INR 30,000 crore tender for the system, now called Anant Shastra, after the platform joined DRDO's maiden Integrated Air Defence Weapon System test in August. Six Army evaluation flights in September 2022 exercised long-, short-, high- and low-altitude, receding, crossing, salvo, day and night scenarios, and DRDO then said the system was ready for induction. QRSAM combines a mobile six-canister launcher, active phased-array radars, automated command and control, and an active-homing RF seeker to protect manoeuvring Army formations. It matters because it closes the short-range air-defence gap for armoured columns with an indigenous system designed to search and track on the move and fire on short halts.
Updated 10 days ago Updated 25 Aug 2026
Verified figures
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Engagement posture | Search and track on the move; fire on short halts ↗ |
| Missile dimensions | 4.364 m long; 0.225 m diameter ↗ |
| Missile mass | 270 kg ↗ |
| Engagement range | 5-30 km ↗ |
| Engagement altitude | Up to 6 km ↗ |
| Propulsion | Single-stage solid rocket motor ↗ |
| Guidance | Mid-course inertial guidance with target updates; terminal active-homing seeker ↗ |
| Warhead | Pre-fragmented, high-energy warhead ↗ |
| Launch configuration | Canisterised inclined launch ↗ |
| Simultaneous engagement | 6 targets ↗ |
| Single-shot kill probability | 80% ↗ |
| Radar coverage | Active phased-array surveillance radar: 120 km; tracking radar with IFF: 80 km ↗ |
Spec sources: bdl-india.in ↗ · bel-india.in ↗
Changelog
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the transfer of DRDO-developed technology for all conventional missile systems, a portfolio that includes QRSAM, to Indian industry for domestic production subject to applicable qualifications, certifications and regulatory requirements; no specific systems, licensees, timelines or terms were named.
BEL was allocated 75 hectares at the Chitrakoot node of the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor and announced a more than INR 600 crore facility that will support QRSAM, Kusha, next-generation radar and MRO work.
Indian media reported that the Army issued BEL an approximately INR 30,000 crore tender for the Anant Shastra surface-to-air missile system, the operational name used for QRSAM.
QRSAM participated in DRDO's maiden Integrated Air Defence Weapon System flight-tests off Odisha, in which QRSAM, advanced VSHORADS and a high-power laser simultaneously engaged and destroyed three targets at different ranges and altitudes.
DRDO and the Indian Army completed six QRSAM evaluation flights at Chandipur across long- and short-range, high- and low-altitude, receding, crossing, salvo, day and night scenarios; DRDO said the system was ready for induction.
The second flight test in a series used a Banshee unmanned target and achieved a direct hit, validating the warhead and proximity fuze.
An operationally configured QRSAM made a direct hit on a Banshee pilotless aircraft at medium range and altitude, using all indigenous subsystems and a terminal active-homing RF seeker.
QRSAM intercepted an aerial target in full deployment configuration at Chandipur, completing the weapon system's developmental trials.
DRDO flight-tested two QRSAM missiles against two live aerial targets at different ranges and altitudes in the system's final vehicle-mounted radar and launcher configuration.
DRDO successfully fired two QRSAM missiles at Chandipur under different altitude and flight conditions, demonstrating the design's control, aerodynamics, propulsion, structural performance and manoeuvrability.
QRSAM completed its second developmental trial from a truck-mounted canister launcher at Chandipur, meeting all mission requirements against an aerial target.
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A single approval on 25 August opens DRDO's entire conventional missile portfolio to Indian industry, from public-sector builders to private primes and MSMEs. Which systems, which firms and on what terms remain unanswered.
