India, Israel to develop MR-SAM missile system for Army
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a deal to jointly develop a medium range surface-to-air missile (MR-SAM) system for Army with help of Israel.
The deal will be executed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI).
Key Facts
- The approved deal is for five regiments of the MR-SAM system, which consists of 40 units and 200 missiles. It has a range of 50-70 km.
- The system will be based on the older Barak system of Israel, which is in use in India. It will be manufactured in India and will have an 80% indigenous content.
- Under this deal, the DRDO will play a crucial role in developing the target homing system. Deliveries of the system will begin in 2023.
- The MR-SAM system will be the latest in a series of other variants of SAM systems used by the Navy and the Air Force which is jointly developed by India and Israel.
Phalcon Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS)
India and Israel are also in an advanced stage of negotiations for the purchase of two more long-range Phalcon AWACS. The CCS already has approved the deal for additional AWACS in 2016. India currently operates three Phalcon AWACS Israeli radars mounted on Russian IL-76 transport aircraft, under a $1-billion tripartite deal with Russia, signed in 2003. India already has ordered two IL-76 aircraft from Russia to be converted to AWACS.
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Month: Current Affairs - February, 2017