Indian home built Aircraft Carrier IAC-1 or INS Vikrant will have its long-range air defence missile system. As per the sources, Tenders will be given for the Barak-8 long-range missile defence system. Which will be installed onboard INS Vikrant, the aircraft carrier. Vikrant will have its air defence component comprising of LRSAM (IAC).
INS Vikrant, also known as Indigenous Aircraft Carrier 1, is an aircraft carrier constructed by Cochin Shipyard in Kochi, Kerala for the Indian Navy. It is the first aircraft carrier to be built in India. The name Vikrant means “courageous”. Instead of relying on support battle group for air defence, Indian carriers will have its multilayer Surface Air missiles.
Barak 8 also known as LR-SAM or as MR-SAM is an Indo-Israeli surface-to-air missile, designed to defend against any type of airborne threat including aircraft, helicopters, anti-ship missiles, and UAVs as well as ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and combat jets.
An ER (extended range) variant of the Barak 8 is under development, which will see the missiles maximum range increased to 150 km. Designed to engage multiple beyond visual range threats, the low launch signature Barak-8ER is understood to retain the same autopilot/inertial navigation system and active radar seeker guidance as to the Barak-8, although some modifications to the software and the missile control surfaces are likely.
The booster increases the length of the missile at launch from its current 4.5 m to nearly 6 m, although the length in flight after the booster has been jettisoned may be slightly less than the base Barak-8 missile if a TVC is not present. The missile diameter and fin spans are thought to be the same as the base Barak-8.
The booster weight is currently unknown, although the missile’s weight after the booster has been jettisoned is the same as that for the current Barak-8 configuration.
It is not sure which variant the Indian Navy will choose for its Aircraft carrier. ER version gives the user an additional edge of 50 km plus over its predecessor. More details can we a viable soon. That’s to Alpha Defence on Twitter and Youtube for bringing this wonderful news.
