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Picking up [ REPORT ]

the Pace

INDIAN MISSILE
PROGRAMMES ARE
DELIVERING ON
THEIR PROMISE

Atul Chandra

The increased focus on design and development of indigenous system. Five squadrons of this highly potent
defence equipment in India and a Government push to promote weapon system were ordered in October 2018.
defence manufacturing in the country has resulted in a growing Deliveries will commence from October 2020
number of contracts for such platforms. Traditionally an import and will be completed by April 2023. The equip-
dependent nation for its defence needs, despite decades of ment for the first operational S-400 Squadron
attempts to build a domestic defence manufacturing base; India is slated to arrive in India, later this year.
is now placing orders for homegrown grown fighter aircraft, heli-
copters, missile and radar systems, artillery guns and much more. Akash SAM
Since the start of India’s missile development
Missile Systems programmes in the late 1970’s, numerous indig-
Airborne threats now present multi-fold challenges to air defence enous SAM systems have delivered on their
systems with the emergence of stealthier aircraft with ability to promise. The Akash (Sky) SAM system must
deliver cruise missiles and stand-off weapons combined with be considered as the most successful of these.
highly sophisticated self-protection systems fitted on the aircraft A contract for seven additional squadrons and
themselves. This is compounded by the proliferation of highly capa- associated specialist infrastructure was inked
ble drone threats, which have the capability to overwhelm an air in October 2019. Induction of the these new
defence system. systems is slated from early 2021.
The development of various kinds of missiles has been an Indian
success story and the country is now, by and large self-sufficient The contract valued at INR63 billion will be
for such requirements; apart from top-tier systems such as the delivered by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL),
Russian S-400 Triumph Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) which will also deliver Integrated Advanced
Command and Control System (IACCS)
Nodes valued at INR79 billion. Since 2016, five
Troops of Akash SAMs have been delivered
to the Army and two Squadrons to the Indian
Air Force (IAF). Also under development is the
Akash Mk-1S, which is an upgrade of existing
missile with indigenous seeker

LR-SAM and MR-SAM
Another success story is the joint Indo-Israeli
Long Range SAM (LR-SAM), which is the ship
launch version and Medium Range SAM (MR-

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