DRDO to produce medium range surface-to-air missile in collaboration with Israel

The Indian Air Force and Navy already have their versions of MR-SAMs.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will be developing a medium-range surface to air missile (MRSAM) for the Army which would be capable of defending against any type of airborne threat such as missiles and aircraft.

The Indian Air Force and Navy already have their versions of MR-SAMs and the Army has been pressing the government to enhance its strike capability.

"The MRSAM system will be capable of shooting down enemy ballistic missiles, aircraft, helicopters, drones, surveillance aircraft and AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control Systems) aircraft," PTI quoted an Army official as saying.

What is a SAM or Surface-to-Air missile?

A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile (GTAM), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. The latest versions of the missiles can hit moving targets with great precision with 2-way GPS communication system allowing the missiles' path to be altered at late stages.

There are three classes of SAM missiles; heavy long-range systems that are fixed or semi-mobile, medium-range vehicle-mounted systems that can fire on the move, and short-range man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS).

India and Israel have collaborated in the past for Barak missile:

Barak 8 was jointly developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), DRDO, Israel's Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure, Elta Systems, Rafael and other companies. Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) produced the missiles.

Barak 8 is based on the original Barak 1 missile. The Barak 8 has a length of about 4.5 meters, a diameter of 0.225 meters at missile body, and 0.54 meters at the booster stage, a wingspan of 0.94 meters and weighs 275 kg including a 60 kg warhead which detonates at proximity.

OneIndia News