The Long & The Short

Smruti Deshpande

The Indian defence forces and the DRDO have been on a spree of testing different missiles in a way of strategic posturing. This came in the backdrop of Indian Army’s ongoing standoff with China at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh. Of the many tests conducted by the DRDO were tests of different surface-to-air missiles (SAM). These missiles are radar or infrared guided missiles fired from a ground position to intercept or destroy enemy aircraft or missiles. The importance of having SAMs in the arsenal is that they protect ground deployments from hostile air attacks by high-altitude bombers. The DRDO has, jointly with several foreign companies, developed SAMs of different ranges.

Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missiles

MRSAM missile during tests

The two among the most recent missiles to be test-fired in India were the Medium Range Surface to Air Missiles (MRSAM) at the Integrated Test Range launch PAD-III at Chandipur in March 2022. After these tests, the DRDO confirmed completing tests of the weapon’s Army variant too.

The MRSAM was developed by the DRDO in collaboration with the Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI). During these tests, four successful interceptions were conducted in various scenarios at different ranges, using different angles. Mainly, the tests were done to intercept a medium-altitude long-range target and a low-altitude short-range target. The DRDO tested the efficacy by testing it in sea-skimming and high-altitude modes, which then led to the development trials of the system.

During the tests, two interceptors were launched from a portable land-based system and two from a naval-based system. The system’s radar was successful in detecting all four interceptors.

The MRSAM resembles the Israeli Barak-8 missiles but has been altered to meet Indian needs. The MRSAM can shoot down fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles and provide 360-degree defence against aerial threats. The MRSAM has a range of up to 70 kilometres and a maximum speed of Mach 2.

The weapon system consists of a mobile launcher system, which can launch eight canister