BrahMos 1-0 Barak

India’s activity in the missile field justifies putting up another piece on the developments in the country: A. Sivathanu Pillai, who is in charge of the BrahMos program at DRDO, announced that the next two stages of the missile program would be completed by 2009.

Currently the involved companies work on a universal launch platform. Pillai said that it could be a platform supported by a submarine or it would have to be a portable platform, to be built, carried and submerged at a pre-determined location. The first test of a BrahMos launched from underwater is scheduled for later this year.

The air-to air version of the BrahMos is also in its finishing stages. Pillai confirmed the earlier announced timeframe for the testing of this type of the missile, which is expected to take place in 2009. Before this will happen, the weight of the booster engines still needs to be reduced.
These two stages will add to India’s ship-to-shore, ship-to-ship, land-to-ship and surface-to-surface versions of the multi-role missiles.

Let’s shift from the BrahMos to another missile: the Barak-8. In February the first test-launch of this surface-to-air missile, which is being developed jointly by Israel and India, was announced for 2009. The two countries started in 2006 the development of the supersonic, vertically launched Barak-8, or BarakNG (New Generation). Now the Indian government has put in cold storage this massive joint venture.

The Daily News & Analysis reports:

The Cabinet Committee on Security had cleared the [joint venture] on July 12, 2007, but sources have now indicated that the government is cautious about giving the final administrative clearance for this project. If cleared, this would be the biggest military [joint venture] of India with any other country.

The volume of the deal is Rs 10,000 crore, i.e. roughly US$ 2.47bn. This move came as the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested arms agent Suresh Nanda and others. The CBI has accused Nanda of receiving almost US$ 100 million in kickbacks after a US$ 275 million deal to purchase earlier versions of the Barak was signed during the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance regime in the year 2000.

NDTV has a short news clip on this issue. Watch it here.

It remains to be seen whether the ongoing investigations will cause a major delay of the introduction of this weapon system. India especially decided to buy the Barak after DRDO failed to develop the indigenous system Trishul. Now it seems that a quick mending is not always the ideal choice.

© picture: The Hindu

Two test announcements

Israel uses Arrow SAM for the upper layers of its multi-layered missile defense system. The original single stage Arrow missile was deployed in 1998. The first battery of the upgraded version, the Arrow-2, which is a two-stage missile, became operational in 2000. The Arrow-2 has a lower weight and an increased range (90 km) in comparison to its predecessor. For a detailed description of the Arrow-2 take a look at the Army Technology website.

Israel is also developing a third version of the missile to provide top-tier air defense. Arrow-3 will be an exo-atmospheric missile, capable of higher altitudes and greater ranges than Arrow-1 and Arrow-2, and be effective against intermediate range ballistic missiles.

According to flightglobal.com, Israel Aerospace Industries has now announced its plans to test the Arrow-3 for the first time in late 2008. Arieh Herzog, director of the MoD’s Israel Missile Defense Organization, estimated that it would take at least five years and “several hundred million dollars” for the first Arrow-3s to become operational.

The Arrow-3 test will be followed in 2009 by the first launch of the Barak-8 surface-to-air missile, which is being developed jointly by Israel and India and will have a range of 60km. The two countries started in 2006 the development of the supersonic, vertically launched Barak-8, or BarakNG (New Generation).

Defense-Update reports:

Barak 8 missile utilizes a fully active seeker, the missile is not dependent on the launcher for targeting and guidance, and can perform at much longer ranges, offering effective protection from aerial threats, manned, unmanned as well as guided weapons. Covering both low and high altitudes, the missile is designed for operation on-board ships as well as for terrestrial applications. Barak 8 system is designed to engage multiple targets simultaneously with deadly effectiveness. The missile uses vertical launched missile is designed to offer 360 degrees protection, utilizing an advanced active radar seeker. The missile is equipped with a two-way datalink, supporting mid-course updating and terminal updating and validation.

Yossi Weiss, general manager of IAI's Systems, Missiles and Space Group, said in mid-May 2007 the Barak-8 air defense system under development would be "more capable and more sophisticated" than the U.S.-developed Patriot PAC-3. Sources declined to provide projected program costs, but estimated the effort would take about four years and a minimum of US$300 million to develop unique system elements and an initial tranche of the land-based missiles.

Sources from both India and Israel say they expect the two countries to sign an add-on development contract by early this year for an advanced land-based version of the Barak-8 which will feature a range of 150 kilometers.