Barak 8

India took a major step towards plugging some gaping holes in its air defence coverage with the maiden test of a new surface-to-air missile (SAM) system designed to detect, track and destroy hostile aircraft, missiles, helicopters and drones at a range of 70 km.
The medium-range SAM system, jointly developed by DRDO and Israeli Aerospace Industries, was tested twice against a British-origin target drone `Banshee' at the integrated test range at Chandipur-on-sea off the coast of Odisha.
The MR-SAM systems with their MF-STARs (multifunction surveillance and threat alert radars) as well as weapon control systems with data links are designed to neutralise multiple targets simultaneously .
IAF will begin inducting an initial nine squadrons of this land-based MR-SAM -at a cost of Rs.10,076 crore -from 2017-18 onwards.
“During the two tests on Thursday , first at 8.15 am and then at 3.45 pm, the interceptor missiles directly hit the manoeuvring target drones (mimicking enemy aircraft), destroying them.All mission objectives were met successfully ,“ Dr G Satheesh Reddy , scientific advisor to the defence minister, said. While two “profiles“ at different altitudes in the flight envelope were tested on Thursday , the MR-SAM will require a few more tests before its production can kick off next year. While Israel calls the system Barak-8, India is yet to officially name it.
The Navy , incidentally , has already equipped three of its latest Kolkata-class destroyers with the warship-based version of the MR-SAM.
The all-weather air defence system, which is being produced by defence PSU Bharat Dynamics (BDL), has also been earmarked for another 12 under-construction warships, including the 40,000-tonne aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
There are, however, some concerns over its high cost, with each MR-SAM system for a warship estimated to cost over Rs.1,200 crore.
This has also led to the initial army order for one MR-SAM regiment or group, pegged at Rs.14,000 crore, to be stuck in the final clearance stage for well over a year now,