INS Kolkata firing a Barak 8 missile

To add more precise fire power to Indian military, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today cleared two procurement proposals worth over 1,600 crore.

According to a Government statement, the first proposal is for procurement of 240 precision guided munitions used by Indian Air Force (IAF), at a cost of 1,254 crore, from Russian defence major Rosoboronexport.

“This procurement will address the deficiency of Precision Guided Munitions in the IAF arsenal, besides enhancing the offensive capabilities of the IAF,” the statement said.

The second proposal is for purchase of 131 surface-to-air Barak missile system under option clause from Israeli missile maker Rafael Advance Defence Systems for 460 crore.

These missiles will be ship-borne anti-missile defence system for Indian Naval ship to protect itself from incoming missiles.

On August 27, Navy received its first India made Barak-8 long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM), jointly developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel Aesrospace Industries (IAI) and manufactured by Bharat Dynamic Limited (BDL).

In 2013, Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) of Ministry of Defence cleared proposal for 262 Barak missile for 880 crore for equipping Indian aircraft carriers INS Vikramaditya and INS Virat.

The local manufacturing in the LRSAM Project is part of India’s ‘Make in India’ Policy. IAI and RAFAEL from Israel together with BDL from India have established production lines, in India, for the LRSAM programme. The local production line is provided with Israeli-made assembles which are integrated with Indian-made assemblies into an operational missile.