NEW DELHI: The defence ministry on Thursday inked a Rs 2,960 crore contract with state-owned Bharat Dynamics Ltd for the supply of over 70 additional medium-range surface-to-air missiles (MR-SAMs), developed jointly with Israel, for frontline warships of the Navy.
The contract, inked in the presence of defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, marks “a critical milestone” in the ongoing efforts to bolster India’s defence capabilities and indigenise advanced military technology, a defence ministry official said.
Saif Ali Khan Health Update
“The MR-SAM system is now a standard fit onboard multiple Indian warships and is planned to be fitted on the majority of the future platforms planned for acquisition,” he added.
The Navy, IAF and Army have all inducted the MR-SAM systems, also called the next-generation Barak-8, under the three joint projects inked between DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries at an initial cost of over Rs 30,000 crore several years ago.
The MR-SAMs are designed to destroy hostile aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles and drones at a range of 70-km. In the Navy, the systems are deployed on aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, the three Kolkata-class destroyers and the four Visakhapatnam-class destroyers, including INS Surat that was commissioned on Wednesday, among others.
After the Navy and IAF, the Army in Feb 2023 also operationalized its first `Abhra’ MR-SAM regiment in the 33 Corps, which defends the frontier with China in Sikkim and the Siliguri Corridor.
“The MR-SAM system provides point and area air defence against a wide range of threats including fighters, UAVs, helicopters, guided and unguided munitions, subsonic and supersonic cruise missiles,” an officer said.
“It is capable of engaging multiple targets at ranges up to 70 km in severe saturation scenarios. The missile is powered by an indigenously developed rocket motor and control system for achieving high manoeuvrability during the terminal phase,” he added.
