Jaitley hands over long-range surface-to-air missile to Navy

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday handed over the Long-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM) jointly developed by India and Israel, to the Indian Navy, at Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) here.

LRSAM is an advanced combat suit for missile defence against air targets and missiles, and has full capabilities of air and surface surveillance, threat alert and fire control.

Public sector BDL is the missile production agency for the three armed forces.

On a day of hectic activity, the minister also dedicated a first-of-i-s kind 50-tonne Rocket Motor Static Test Facility. The 48-crore facility for SAM (surface-to-air missile) will support the design and vendor development activities needed for production of missiles.

These efforts were hitherto shouldered by the Defence Research and Development Organisation DRDO as the development agency.

BDL is now equipped to take the responsibility on its own, which has been actively guided for realisation and establishment by DRDO.

Later, Jaitley inaugurated the ASTRA Manufacturing Unit at the BDL’s Bhanur unit. The ASTRA weapon system is an indigenously developed air-to-air Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missile developed by the DRDO.

Comprising a launcher and a missile, it is designed as a BVR missile with a range of 110 km in head-on mode and 20 km in tail-chase mode.

BVR missiles are the latest in air-to-air combat. BDL has been designated as the Lead Integrator by the DRDO.

 Manufacturing centre ::

The minister also performed the ground breaking of the phase II of the manufacturing facilities of BDL at Ibrahimpatnam. BDL had acquired 632 acres of land from the State government to establish manufacturing, testing and storage facilities for advanced weapon systems of MRSAM (Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missiles) and QRSAM (Quick-Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile).

The ₹522-crore facility will be the PSU’s future weapon realisation and delivery centre.

The facilities will meet the future needs of missile testing, and is in line with DRDO labs.

It can be offered to other vendors of propellant and other sub-systems for development and production as a national asset.

 thehindubusinessline