Sulur: India is preparing to test-fire a new locally produced air defence system called SAMAR-2 (surface-to-air missile for assured retaliation) with a range of almost 30 km, Indian Air Force (IAF) officials associated with the project said on Tuesday.
“The first firing trials will be carried out by December,” said one of the officials cited above, asking not to be named. The IAF has developed the air defence system with two industry partners.
The first variant of the weapon system, SAMAR-1, has been inducted into the IAF and has a range of 8 km. Both systems use Russian-origin air-to-air missiles. SAMAR-1 is equipped with the R-73E, and the new variant under development has the R-27 missile.
The IAF showcased the SAMAR-1 air defence system at the International Defence Aviation Exposition being held on the sidelines of the ongoing Tarang Shakti 2024 exercise, the biggest multilateral air combat drills to be hosted by India. Ten foreign air forces are taking part in the exercise, while 18 countries are participating as observers.
“What is challenging here is that air-to-air missiles, which are past their shelf life and thus unsafe for aerial launch, are being used in a surface-to-air role,” said a second official.
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The SAMAR system can destroy aerial threats, including fighter jets, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles, the officials said.
India is also developing an indigenous long-range surface-to-air missile system under Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)’s Project Kusha. It will have a maximum range of 350 km and is expected to be deployed in around four to five years.
DRDO has also developed the Indigenous very short-range air defence system (VSHORADS). It is a man-portable air defence system that can handle low-altitude aerial threats at short ranges. The systems in service include the S-400 air defence missile system and medium-range surface-to-air missile (MRSAM) systems developed jointly with Israel. Also, the other air defence weapons in the Indian arsenal include the Israeli SpyDer, Soviet-origin systems such as Pechora, OSA-AK, Tunguska, Strela and Shilka, Zu-23-2B anti-aircraft guns, upgraded L-70 anti-aircraft guns (a legacy weapon manufactured by Swedish arms firm Bofors AB), and the Igla MANPADS (man-portable air defence system).
Agencies
