IAI wins $777m contract to deliver LRSAM systems for Indian Navy

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has received an additional contract worth $777m to deliver Barak 8 air and missile defence (AMD) systems for installation on seven Indian Navy vessels.

The contract has been entered with Indian state-owned company Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), which serves as the project’s main contractor.

Under the deal, IAI will supply long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) systems, which has been designed as the marine variant of the Barak 8 AMD weapon system.

Used by the Israeli Navy and the Indian Armed Forces, the LRSAM system offers broad aerial and point defence against a wide range of threats to the marine arena from the air, sea or land.

IAI Systems, Missiles & Space Group executive vice-president and general manager Boaz Levi said: “With this deal, the sales of the Barak 8 over the past few years total over $6bn. This is another evidence of the capabilities of this advanced weapon system, which serves as a central growth engine for IAI.

“Barak 8 is an operational system that provides a full response to a range of threats, built to cooperate with other systems, it provides customers with operational flexibility for maximum effectiveness on the battlefield.”

As part of the Barak 8 Family, the operational missile system integrates a large number of new and advanced systems such as digital radar, command and control, launchers, interceptors with modern radio frequency (RF) seekers, data link and system-wide connectivity.

Barak 8 missile has been developed by IAI, alongside Israel’s Ministry of Defense (MoD), India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), the two countries’ navies, IAI’s ELTA Group, RAFAEL and other local industries in both countries.