The Indian Army is progressing two instances value over Rs 6,800 crore for growing Very Short Range Air Defence Systems indigenously amid shortages within the stock of shoulder-fired missiles to sort out aerial threats on borders with China and Pakistan. The Army plans to develop and procure over 500 launchers and round 3000 missiles from indigenous routes.
At the identical time, the Indian Army together with the opposite stakeholders is the potential for an outdated tender scrapped earlier during which the Russian Igla-S was chosen in view of the delays for discovering alternative for the outdated Igla-1M missiles.
Defence Ministry officers mentioned the present VSHORAD missiles within the stock of the Indian Army and Indian Air Force are all with lR homing steerage techniques and the Igla 1M VSHORAD missile system was inducted in 1989 and was deliberate for de-induction in 2013.
“At present, there is a Rs 4800 crore project in which a public sector unit headquartered in Hyderabad and a private sector Pune-based firm have been engaged for developing a laser beam riding VSHORADS which would be used by the forces to protect the borders to provide protection from enemy drones, fighter aircraft and choppers,” defence forces’ officers informed information company ANI.
The challenge could be for growing 200 launchers and 1200 missiles for supplying to the Indian Army and Air Force and the lead within the challenge is the Indian Army which is the most important consumer of those missiles, they mentioned.
Of the 1200 missiles deliberate to be inducted within the challenge, it’s prone to get 700 whereas the remaining could be for the IAF.
The two corporations have to supply the prototype of the system beneath the Indian Designed, Developed and Manufactured clause of the Defence Acquisition Procedure, they mentioned.
However, business sources knowledgeable that the progress made on this programme has not been very encouraging. Another programme that’s being progressed is the Design and Development challenge being carried out by the DRDO for making an infra-red homing-based VSHORADS.
The DRDO is working with two of its Development cum Production Partners Adani Defence and I-Comm for producing Laser Beam Riding VSHORADS.
The DRDO has examined the system based mostly on a tripod and they’re now anticipated to miniaturise the system for making it a shoulder-fired weapon system, the officers mentioned.
In the in the meantime, the Indian Army and the Air Force used the Emergency Procurement powers to purchase round 96 launchers of the Russian Igla of which 48 have already arrived as a part of the primary tranche of the orders given in EP-1 whereas 48 are anticipated to be delivered in close to future.
In this in the meantime, there may be additionally a suggestion to revive the contract which was scrapped nearly over 5 years in the past during which the Russian aspect had emerged because the lowest bidder with its Igla-S system on provide.
The stakeholders within the challenge are anticipated to satisfy quickly to seek out out methods of finishing up the challenge beneath ‘Make in India’.
The challenge scrapped by the Defence Ministry was anticipated to be value round Rs 4,800 crore.
The significance and the flexibility of”VSHORAD missiles have been repeatedly proved in battle together with the latest Russia-Ukraine battle, Defence Ministry officers said.
The Indian forces have been progressing the instances for changing their outdated VSHORADS system.
(With ANI inputs)
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