India, Israel test medium-range surface-to-air missile defence system

India and Israel have successfully tested a Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) defence system jointly developed by the two countries in a boost to their combat capabilities aimed at providing ultimate protection from enemy aircraft.

The test was conducted last week at an Indian facility and validated all components of the weapons system, a press release by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) on Tuesday said.

The MRSAM is an advanced path-breaking air and missile defence system that provides ultimate protection against a variety of aerial platforms. Defence experts say that it can shoot down enemy aircraft at a range of 50-70 kms.

Jointly developed by IAI and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in partnership with other defence companies in Israel and India, the MRSAM is being used by all the three wings of the Indian army and also Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

The system includes an advanced phased-array radar, command and control, mobile launchers and interceptors with advanced RF seeker.

"MRSAM Air & Missile Defense System is a cutting edge, innovative system that once again has proven its advanced capabilities against a variety of threats. Every trial in an air defence system is a complex operational event and the COVID-19 limitations significantly increase the complexity," Boaz Levy, IAI's President and CEO, said.

"This trial is yet another testimonial to the strong partnership between IAI and India and the two nations. IAI is proud to lead this impressive cooperation with DRDO and the Indian forces and is dedicated to its continued success," Levy said.

Israeli specialists and Indian scientists and officers participated in and witnessed the test, the leading Israeli defence industry said.

The flight test demonstrated different extreme reference scenarios, validating various system capabilities, it stressed.

"As part of the test, the MRSAM interceptor was launched from a land-based mobile launcher and successfully hit its threats. The scenario began by targeting the threat detected by the Systems digital MMR Radar and launched the MRSAM interceptor toward its operational trajectory. The interceptor acquired the target, and successfully intercepted it," the press statement noted.

"All the weapon system's elements met the test goals successfully," it said.