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The Indian Navy is all set to get first of its warships fitted with the next generation of missiles by the summer of 2013. These missiles are expected to prove very effective against long-range incoming enemy missiles, weaponised drones and spy planes, among other threats.
The long-range surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM), being jointly developed by Israel Aerospace Industry (IAI) and Indias Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is in the final stages of development. From now on, all newly inducted Indian naval warships will have these missiles for the protection of strategic assets along the coastline and self-defense, sources said.
The older warships cannot be retrofitted with the system. However, all 18 new warships on order, or under construction, along with the indigenous aircraft carrier, will have these missiles. The new missiles can strike air-borne targets 120 km away.
The first warship to have the new set of missiles would be the Kolkata class destroyers. The first of the seven warships of this class is slated to be commissioned in July 2013. The ship is under construction at the Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL), Mumbai. The Rs 2,600-crore project for the LR-SAM aims to develop an advanced naval air-defence system. DRDO and IAI officials have been conducting a series of tests so far. The Indian Navy, along the DRDO and the IAI, will conduct final-user trials in early 2013 on board one of the warships in India before LR-SAM installation.
The project is running behind schedule by two years. At a meeting between defense ministry officials of India and Israel in the first week of December, India expressed concern over the delay. It stressed that the mass production of LR-SAM should begin at the earliest. The project was sanctioned in December 2005.
So far, the Indian Navy has been relying on Russian-origin Shtil missiles and Israeli Barak missiles for its air-defense. These missiles have a range of around 60-70 km. The LR-SAM will be an important upgrade, especially when the Indian Navy has been tasked to dominate an increasingly volatile Indian Ocean region.
The LR-SAM variant undergoing testing will have inclined launch. Work is also on to develop another variant having vertical launch. This will save a precious few seconds while counter-attacking an enemy missile. In a real-war scenario, the reaction time to launch an LR-SAM can be less than 30 seconds.
A specialised radar will be needed on board warships to locate the incoming threat and then fire the missile. The radars will be part of the kit on board all future Indian Navy warships.
The missiles have shown good performance in homing onto desired targets so far. The Hyderabad-based Defense Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), a DRDO lab, is the Indian partner in the project. It is developing the rear section of the missile.
New missiles for Navy warships by next summer | idrw.org
