Indian Army inks MoU with DRDO to raise MRSAM defence system regiment

The Indian Army has signed MoU with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to raise one regiment of the advanced Medium Range Surface to Air Missiles (MRSAM) defence system.

Background

The Indian Army is planning to have a total of five regiments of MRSAM defence system, which will be deployed opposite to China and Pakistan. Each regiment consists of four launchers with three missiles each. So five regiments will have total 60 missiles. Earlier the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by PM Narendra Modi had approved proposal for procuring MRSAM system for the army.

About MRSAM

The MRSAM is an advanced, all weather, mobile, land-based air defence system. It can shoot down enemy ballistic missiles, aircraft, helicopters, drones, surveillance aircraft and AWACS aircraft.  It is capable of engaging multiple aerial targets at ranges of more than 50 km.
MRSAM is a land-based variant of the long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) or Barak-8 naval air defence system, which is designed to operate from naval vessels. Each MRSAM system comprises a command-and-control system, mobile launchers, tracking radar and missiles.
The system will be jointly developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and DRDO with the involvement of DPSUs and private sectors. It has majority indigenous content, giving boost to the Make-in-India initiative.
In July 2016, the IAI and DRDO successfully had conducted three flight tests of the MRSAM at the integrated test range off the Odisha Coast. The missile had successfully intercepted moving aerial targets in all three tests.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2017