The Indian Government has reportedly approved the procurement of Israeli Barak-I surface-to-air anti-missile defence (AMD) systems for integration into navy vessels.
The deal, cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), is worth nearly $163.5m but has been on hold for the last six years awaiting investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Originally, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a $208.6m deal for nine Barak-I AMD systems, together with 200 missiles for $63m, with Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Rafael, in October 2000.
In 2012, the Indian Navy issued a fresh tender to purchase a further 262 Barak-I missiles worth more than $140m for integration into the AMD installed on 14 warships, which include an INS Viraat aircraft carrier and three Shivalik-class stealth frigates.
The Barak-I systems are aimed at defending Indian Navy vessels against approaching sea-skimming missiles, including Exocets and Harpoons, in addition to high-altitude targets including aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Integrating a vertically launched missile, a dual-pulse rocket motor, active-radar seeker and a two-way data link, the Barak missile system can be easily installed on new or existing warships.
India, in collaboration with IAI, has also been working on long-range surface-to-air (LR-SAM) and medium-range SAM systems.
