Air Defence: Countering A Deadly Threat to Warships

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Defending the sky around a warship has become one of the most important task that any naval commander would focus on if he wants to ensure his asset is safe and can achieve the mission for which it sailed out in the first place. This aerial threat to warships has increased manifold in the recent years with the induction of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in maritime warfare doctrines of several sea faring nations.

To ensure Indian warships can handle such threats, the Indian Navy is pursuing a project for Short Range Surface-to-Air Missile (SR-SAM) to fill the gaps in its capability that has found a boost in the recent months with the validation and induction of the Barak-8 Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile on most of its mainline warships.

India's Defence Research and Development Organisation is currently in talks with European missile leader MBDA for the development of a SR-SAM for the Navy, after the Indian maritime force rejected the possibility of Akash being modified for its use. MBDA's ALBATROS Naval Surface-To-Air Missile System that is effective against UAVs, aircraft and helicopters. The ALBATROS is said to have a very high single shot efficiency.

The company is waiting for the green signal from India's Defence Ministry to finalise its negotiation with the DRDO on naval air defence missile. SR-SAM is at very final stage of being finalised, according to Indian officials with knowledge of the developments. The two sides have already addressed all the topics linked to design, work share, future production, and content of technology transfer (ToT), the official said. These details have also been discussed with the Indian Navy, apart from the production agency Bharat Dynamics Limited.