India Approved the Acquisition of Barak Missiles

The Indian MoD, headed by A. K. Antony, approved last month the acquisition of 262 Israeli Barak-I missiles, by Rafael and IAI, a deal estimated at $143 million, according to a report on defense-aerospace.

The Indian Ministery of Defence, headed by A. K. Antony, approved last month the acquisition of 262 Israeli Barak-I missiles, by Rafael and IAI, a deal estimated at $143 million, according to a report on defense-aerospace. The Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC) also gave the green light for two other delayed naval projects. One of them is for the acquisition of 16 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) warships capable of operating in "shallow waters'', worth $2 billion. The second project is the acquisition of two diving support vessels meant for rescuing sailors from disabled submarines. Furthermore, the council approved the purchase of 41 Dhruv advanced helicopters, manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), worth $49 million. "While a global tender will now be floated for the diving support vessels or DSRVs (deep-submergence rescue vessels), the ASW boats will be built in India with some foreign collaboration for torpedoes etc. The ASW boats, with a displacement below 1,000 tonne, are crucial to track and kill enemy submarines near our coast or ports," said a source. These two projects are hanging in the air for a long time. The offer for the two underwater vehicles is stuck for over 15 years. But the green light for the acquisition of the Barak-I missiles will now require the final nod from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). The Navy has for long been screaming about its fast-depleting stock of missiles to arm the Israeli Barak-I anti-missile defense (AMD) systems fitted on 14 frontline warships, such as the aircraft carrier INS Viraat and the latest Shivalik-class stealth frigates. However, the acquisition was halted due to an investigation of an alleged bribery case in which foreign companies were involved, including IAI and Rafael. It ended in full acquittal of Israeli companies due to lack of evidence, the report said. During the seven-year period, the Indian MOD has consistently refused to put to blacklist the Israeli companies, claiming that such a move would harm the national security of India. Israel is the second largest weapon supplier to India, with sales worth around $1 billion a year. Of the several projects currently underway, IAI and DRDO are jointly developing a long-range surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM) system to arm Indian warships, worth $424 million, and a medium-range SAM system for IAF at the cost of $1.6 billion. Both these systems, with an interception range of 70 km each, were to be ready long ago but have repeatedly missed deadlines. The naval LR-SAM project, approved in December 2005, is now slated for completion by December 2015. The MR-SAM project, sanctioned in February 2009, in turn, has a "probable date of completion" by August 2016, sources told the website.http://www.defencenews.in