IAF gets 70km range surface-to-air missile system
NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force on Thursday inducted a medium range surface-to-airmissile (MRSAM) system capable of knocking out aerial threats such as enemy fighter jets, missiles, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles at a range of 70 km. Defence minister Rajnath Singh described the capability as a “game changer” in air defence.
Israel Aerospace Industries and the Defence Research and the Development Organisation (DRDO) have jointly developed MRSAM, or the Barak 8 air defence system that includes advanced radar, command and control systems, and mobile launchers. “With the handing over of the MRSAM system to IAF, we have taken a giant leap towards achieving ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India). The MRSAM will prove to be a game changer in air defence,” Singh said at the induction ceremony in Jaisalmer.
DRDO chief G Satheesh Reddy handed over the first firing unit of the system to IAF chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria in Singh’s presence.
“The system is capable of hitting multiple targets simultaneously up to a range of 70 km, even in bad weather. Its success in a string of stringent tests is a proof of its reliability,” the defence minister said.
A naval version of MRSAM is already deployed on a few Indian warships to boost their anti-air warfare capabilities. The army too has placed orders for the MRSAM but it has not yet inducted the system. India and Israel have inked separate deals worth around $3 billion over the last four years for advanced surface-to-air missile systems for the three services.
“The MRSAM system was long awaited. Its induction now will boost the IAF’s air defence capability significantly. The impending arrival of the S-400 missile defence systems from Russia will make those capabilities even more formidable,” said Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd), former additional director general, Centre for Air Power Studies.
India is set to soon begin induction of the S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems ordered from Russia in 2018.
Singh said MRSAM was one of the best missile systems available globally and the project highlighted the close partnership between Indian and Israel in the defence sector. The minister said the MRSAM project strengthened the defence industrial bases of both India and Israel, and was “a win-win situation” for both countries.
Israel has been among India’s top three arms suppliers during the last five years, according to a report published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) in March 2021. Singh said geo-political changes impacted trade, economy, power politics and the security scenario. “In such a situation, strengthening our security and self-reliance has become a necessity, not an achievement.”
“Equations between countries are also changing rapidly according to their interests. Whether it is the South China Sea, Indian Ocean Region, IndoPacific or Central Asia, uncertainty can be seen everywhere,” Singh said.
The MRSAM induction ceremony took place after Singh and minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari jointly inaugurated an emergency landing facility for the IAF on the Satta-Gandhav stretch of NH-925A near Barmer. The two ministers also witnessed aircraft operations on the new landing facility, which supports landing of all aircraft in the air force’s fighter and transport fleets.