Varunastra missile handed over to Indian navy

NEW DEHLI, India, June 30 (UPI) -- The Indian navy took possession of the indigenously made, anti-submarine Varunastra electric torpedo from the Ministry of Defense during a ceremony Thursday, the sea service announced.

Varunastra is the first indigenous state-of-the-art heavyweight torpedo designed by the country's Defense Research and Development Organization, or DRDO, the organization said on its Facebook page.

The missile can target submarines in deep and littoral waters.

It also features high-speed, long-endurance propulsion and can operate in various combat scenarios, DRDO said, and features more than 95 percent native content.

The navy is planning to produce 73 of the missiles.

It can be fired from Rajput-class and Delhi-class destroyers, and future anti-submarine warfare ships.

Also this week, India's Odisha TV reported that India had successfully fired a medium-range surface-to-air missile that was developed jointly with Israel.