The New Indian Express:
The Defence Research and Development Organisation is readying to conduct a series of tests of Indo-Israeli joint venture Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) from a defence base off the Odisha coast from Tuesday.
At least five tests of the MRSAM, jointly developed by DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) of Israel for the Indian Air Force (IAF), have been planned from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea.
The missile guided by a radar system and on-board avionics will be fired against a pilot-less target aircraft mimicking an attacking combat aircraft. Both Indian and Israel teams will participate in the launch campaign.
Preparations for the tests are on in full swing. Designed and developed by Research Centre Imarat (RCI), a DRDO lab and IAI, the missile has been manufactured by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).
Many Indian industries including Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), L&T, Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and TATA group have contributed to the development of a number of subsystems which will be put into use in the flight tests.
The 4.5-meter long ballistic missile weighs around 270 kg and can carry a payload of 60 kg. Apart from the missile, the system includes a Multi-Functional Surveillance and Threat Alert Radar (MFSTAR) for detection, tracking and guidance of the missile.
Capable of intercepting incoming aerial threats up to a range of 70 km, the MRSAMs can be deployed to protect sensitive defence bases, metro cities and other important installations like nuclear stations.
The MRSAM system which is yet to get a specific name provides reliable air defence at medium range. Travelling at a speed of Mach 2 the missile can identify and destroy airborne threats like jets, missiles and rockets, including projectiles launched simultaneously.
A contract of Rs 10,076 crore for MRSAM was signed in February 2009. The MRSAM is a variant of long range surface to air missile (LRSAM), dubbed as Barak-8, that the DRDO and IAI are developing for the Navy. The project worth Rs 2,606 crore for Navy was signed in December 2005 and first test of the missile was conducted in November 2014.
As precautionary measures the district administration will shift residents of seven hamlets that fall within 2.5 km radius of the test facility. Adequate arrangements have been made to shift 3,652 persons to temporary shelters prior to the missile tests….
