India has signed a contract worth USD 340 million for the procurement of more than 70 Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) systems, which were jointly developed with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The systems will be manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), IAI’s partner in India. The agreement was formalized in New Delhi on January 16, 2025.

The MRSAM systems will be deployed on a significant number of the Indian Navy’s future warships.

The MRSAM system is designed to counter a wide array of aerial threats, with an operational range of up to 70 kilometers. It can neutralize aerial targets such as aircraft, guided bombs, helicopters, and anti-ship missiles. The system can track over 1,000 aerial threats simultaneously.

The MRSAM system comprises a phased array radar, a command and control system, mobile launchers, and interceptors equipped with advanced sensors. The active-phased array radar has a detection range of 350 kilometers and can track more than 1,000 air and 300 surface targets simultaneously.

The contract aligns with India's "Made in India" initiative, emphasizing local production in defence agreements and is expected to generate approximately 350,000 workdays in India. The missiles will be supplied under the 'Buy (Indian)' category, with significant indigenous content.

The contract is valued at approximately 29.6 billion rupees (USD 340 million), with transactions to be conducted in Indian currency.

IAI’s subsidiary, Aerospace Services India (ASI), based in New Delhi, is managing the contract implementation on the Israeli side.

The MRSAM system is already in service with the Indian Navy, Army, and Air Force. It is deployed on various Indian Navy platforms, including the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, Kolkata-class destroyers, and Visakhapatnam-class destroyers.

The MRSAM is an Indian version of the Barak 8 surface-to-air missile, and has been jointly developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Defence Industry Europe