MRSAM, Air & Missile Defense System jointly developed by IAI, Israel & DRDO India was successfully tested last week at a test range in India
MRSAM is an advanced path-breaking air and missile defense system that provides ultimate protection against a variety of aerial platforms. MRSAM is jointly developed by IAI and DRDO for Indian forces. IAI is in collaboration with Israeli and Indian industries, including: Rafael, TATA, BEL, L&T, BDL and many private vendors. It is used by the Indian Air Force, Army Force, Indian Navy and Israeli Defense Forces. The system includes an Advanced Phased Array Radar, Command and Control, Mobile Launchers and interceptors with advanced RF Seeker.
Boaz Levy IAI’s President and CEO: “MRSAM Air & Missile Defense System is a cutting edge, innovative system, that once again has proven its advanced capabilities against a variety of threats. Every trial in an air defense system is a complex operational event and the COVID-19 limitations significantly increase the complexity. This trial is yet another testimonial to the strong partnership between IAI and India and the two nations. IAI is proud to lead this impressive cooperation with DRDO and the Indian forces and is dedicated to its continued success.”
The current test, conducted at the Indian test range, validated all components of the weapon system to the customer’s satisfaction. Israeli specialists and Indian scientists and officers participated in and witnessed the test. The flight test demonstrated different extreme reference scenarios, validating various system capabilities. As part of the test the MRSAM interceptor was launched from a land-based mobile launcher and successfully hit its threats. The scenario began by targeting the threat detected by the Systems digital MMR Radar and launched the MRSAM interceptor toward its operational trajectory. The interceptor acquired the target, and successfully intercepted it.
Barak 8 (Lightning) also known as MR-SAM is an Indo-Israeli surface-to-air missile (SAM), designed to defend against any type of airborne threat including aircraft, helicopters, anti-ship missiles, and UAVs as well as ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and combat jets. Both maritime and land-based variants of the system exist.MRSAM is the land based configuration of the missile. It consists of a command and control system, tracking radar, missile and mobile launcher systems. Each launcher will have eight such missiles in two stacks and are launched in a canister configuration. The system is also fitted with an advanced radio frequency (RF) seeker. The Indian Army ordered five regiments of this version, which consists of about 40 launchers and 200 missiles for US$2.4 billion. It is expected to be deployed by 2023 with first deliveries commencing in 2020.
