India is building a three-layered long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) defence system on its own, which may provide the country’s defence industry with a significant boost and be able to shoot down enemy planes and missiles at distances of up to 400 km.
According to military sources, The Defence Ministry is at an advanced stage with the proposal to create a three-layered long-range surface-to-air missile system which is anticipated to be cleared soon.
The over USD 2.5 billion project will help India to be part of an elite group of militaries with indigenous capabilities to shoot down enemy assets in the air from such ranges, they said.
Three layers of surface-to-air missiles will be used in the missile system, allowing it to kill targets at various ranges.
The medium-range surface-to-air missile system MRSAM, which can hit aerial targets at ranges of more than 70 kilometres, was developed by India and Israel while work on the surface-to-air missile system was ongoing.
According to reports, the Indian system would be quite capable and would certainly be in the same league as the S-400 air defence system that China and Pakistan have previously purchased from Russia and placed along their border.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has made significant success in terms of developing air defence weapons for both ground-based and warship-based systems.
The Indian Navy renamed its in-house LRSAM system to MRSAM once the DRDO took on the LRSAM project.
A comparable indigenous system was previously known as MRSAM by the Army and the IAF.
The S-400 air defence systems, which have a maximum range of 400 km and can also destroy targets at closer ranges, are already in the arsenal of the Indian armed forces.
The Chinese military also employs the system, and they have placed it along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India. Although the Chinese have domestic air defence systems as well, they are less effective than the S-400.
Although the S-400 has already arrived in India and has been operationalized in three squadrons, it is unknown when the other two units would be delivered.
The Indian Air Force, which is passionate about encouraging domestic production of defence gear, will serve as the project lead for the LRSAM project.
