LRSAM Missile: Eye on elite club, India making its own 400km class LRSAM defence system | India News – Times of India
This indigenous project aims to establish a formidable three-layered defence system capable of effectively neutralizing enemy aircraft and missiles at a remarkable range of approximately 400 kilometers, reported ANI.
According to sources in the defence ministry, the proposal for the three-layered LRSAM system is progressing well and expected to be submitted for approval soon.
The project, valued at over $2.5 billion, would catapult India into an elite group of nations possessing indigenous capabilities to tackle aerial threats from such long distances.
The LRSAM system will comprise three layers of surface-to-air missiles, each designed to engage targets at different ranges. Notably, India’s collaboration with Israel during the development of the medium-range surface-to-air missile system MRSAM, capable of targeting aerial assets at a distance of 70+ kilometers, has been pivotal in advancing this initiative.
Experts believe that the Indian LRSAM system will be highly sophisticated and comparable to the formidable S-400 air defence system, previously acquired from Russia and deployed along the China and Pakistan borders.
The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has played a crucial role in achieving significant success in developing air defence weaponry, both for ground-based and warship-based applications.
Following DRDO’s involvement in the LRSAM project, the Indian Navy decided to rebrand its indigenous LRSAM system as MRSAM. The Army and Indian Air Force (IAF) have also adopted a similar indigenous system under the name MRSAM.
The Indian defence forces already have the Russian-made S-400 air defence systems, which can hit targets at 400 km maximum distance and also have the capability to take out targets at shorter ranges too.
The system is used by the Chinese military as well, which has deployed it along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India. The Chinese also have their indigenous air defence systems but they are less capable than the S-400.
While three squadrons of the S-400 have already been delivered and operationalized in India, the delivery schedule for the remaining two units remains uncertain due to heavy sanctions imposed by the West on Russia.
The project lead for the LRSAM project would be the Indian Air Force which is keen on promoting indigenisation in defence hardware.
(With inputs from ANI)
