BEL says work on Quick Reaction Missile progressing

Quitol (South Goa), March 30: Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) says the joint development of the QR-SAM (Quick Reaction, Surface to Air Missile) is progressing as planned along with the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

Speaking to OneIndia at the ongoing Defence Expo in Goa, Dr Kalghatgi, Director (R&D), BEL, said the lessons from the successful development of Akash Missile System would come handy for the ongoing project.

"The QR-SAM will be a smart weapon that would be completely be made in India. It would be mounted on a vehicle (similar to Akash) with a launcher. Both the launcher and the vehicle will also be home-grown," says Dr Kalghatgi.

He said initially the Indian Army would be the customer for the new missile, that promises better range and performance than Akash.

"The sensors are currently being developed for the missile. We hope to have the full integration of the missile by the next two years," says Dr Kalghatgi.

BEL and Rosoboroneexport (part of Rostec State Corporation, Russia) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Defexpo for the joint development of various sub-systems of major defence projects.

BEL says the MoU is under the Offset clause of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) and would cater to the requirements of all three arms of the Indian armed forces, as well as the civilian sector.

"BEL is very happy to join hands with Rosoboroneexport in taking up the design and development of state-of-the-art products and systems for various strategic programmes of the Ministry of Defence," says P C Jain, Director (Marketing), BEL.

At the Defexpo, BEL also signed a partnership agreement with Thales for the joint development of the PHAROS fire control radar.

BEL says the strategic co-operation contract will allow both firms to jointly develop PHAROS, a fire control radar for both gun and missile systems.

PHAROS provides defence against small, fast moving and highly manoeuvrable air and surface targets that may also be encountered in littoral missions.

The multiple target tracker is capable of simultaneously controlling - in all weather conditions - the engagement of these targets with guided ammunition.

OneIndia News