The Indo-Israeli Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LR-SAM) was successfully test fired in Israel last fortnight. “The 70-km missile was fired at an electronic target and met with its initial objectives,” DRDO chief Dr Vijay Saraswat said in an exclusive interview with India Today.
The second test of the missile will be held in India sometime later this year. The missile will be integrated by Indian technicians. The LR-SAM area defence missile is being jointly developed by India and Israel under a Rs 2500 crore project which began in 2006. The missile, also called the Barak-2 are to equip the three guided missile destroyers of the Project 15A class. The three destroyers are to join the Indian navy in one year intervals beginning in 2012.
“We will deliver the system to the armed forces in 2013. I am very confident it will be an astounding success,” Dr Saraswat said. A second variant, called the Medium Range SAM (MR-SAM) is being developed for the Indian Air Force under a Rs 10,000 crore project signed in 2009. The MR-SAM is to replace all the IAF’s ageing Soviet-made Pechora SAM missiles. According to naval officials, a 100-km range theatre defence version called the Extended Range SAM is being developed for the four Project 15B destroyers.

BY: India Today Group.