XRSAM: India’s Next Generation Long Range Air Defence Missile system?
Saurav Jha who is prominent Indian Defence Journalist in his latest tweet has confirmed the development of very long range Surface to air missile with a reported range of 250km dubbed as XRSAM.
XRSAM will be used to bridge the gap between MR-SAM (70 km) and S-400 (400 km) Air Defence System and will be using spin-off technologies developed for countries Anti-Ballistic missile Defence system.XR-SAM will complement the S-400 systems in their role and filling the need for a robust Multi-Layered Air Defence System and a family of Ground Based Air Defence Weapon Systems (GBADWS)
The total system will be consisting of two different surface to air missiles. One will have 250km range another will have 400km range.
XR-SAM is actually a spin-off of the AAD-1 endo-atmospheric interceptor with a service ceiling of 120 km and has supposedly Anti-Ballistic Missile features though its not confirmed.
India is buying two different type of surface-to-air missile for its S-400 system : 40N6 ( range : 400 km ) and 48N6 ( range : 250 km ). XR-SAM will have active radar homing guidance GaN ( Gallium Nitride ) based UHF radars aimed at engaging Aircrafts , Cruise Missiles , Unmanned Drones and even ballistic targets.
DRDO is yet to confirm if XRSAM Air Defence Missile system will consist of one or two different type of missile system yet but there are unconfirmed reports indicating that system will be capable of simultaneously engaging cruise missiles, aircraft and ballistic targets, hinting of using two slightly different missile configuartion of same type .
XRSAM Air Defence Missile system might utilize same network grid deployed for Anti-Ballistic missile Defence system and might be working as part of large umbrella air defence network grid consisting of ABM, S-400 and XRSAM surveillance ,guidance, tracking network of radars .
XRSAM might be ready for developmental and engineering trials by 2020 .
Let’s look into India’s Air Defence Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Systems
QRSAM: The QRSAM is a quick reaction, all-weather and network-centric search-on-the-move missile system. It can engage multiple targets at a range of about 30 km with two vehicle configuration for area air defence.
The missile is a truck-mounted one with 360 degree rotatable, electronic-mechanically operated, turret-based launch unit..
MRSAM :The Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) is being developed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in collaboration with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). It is expected to enter service with the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2017.
The missile is designed to provide the armed forces with air defence capability against a variety of aerial threats at medium ranges
The MRSAM missile is equipped with an advanced active radar radio frequency (RF) seeker, advanced rotating phased array radar and a bidirectional data link. The RF seeker, located in the front section of the missile, is used to detect moving targets in all weather conditions.
Barak 8
Barak 8 also known as LR-SAM or as MR-SAM is an Indian-Israeli surface-to-air missile (SAM), designed to defend against any type of airborne threat including aircraft, helicopters, anti-ship missiles, and UAVs as well as cruise missiles and combat jets out to a maximum range of 70 km, however, reports suggest the missile has been increased to a maximum range of 90 km following “range upgrade discussions” between India and Israel during November 2014.Some news agencies have referred to the missiles range at 100 km.Both maritime and land-based versions of the system exist.
The Barak-8 has been designed to defend against a variety of short-to-long-range airborne threats, including fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, drones and projectiles. It incorporates a state-of-the-art phased array multi- mission radar, two-way data link, and a flexible command and control system that enables it to simultaneously engage multiple targets day and night and in all-weather conditions. Due to the comprehensive simulation and preliminary subsystem testing, only three flight tests are sufficient to clear the system for operational induction. Additional tests will follow the initial phase to further explore the system’s performance and capability enhancements.
LRSAM
The long-range surface-to-air missiles (LR-SAM) has long-range engagement capability to penetrate deep water and land to intercept all types of aerial targets like subsonic & supersonic missiles, fighter aircraft, maritime patrolling aircraft (MPA), helicopter and sea skimming missiles.
It will be effective in countering newest generation anti-ship missiles like the Harpoon and Exocet. The Indian Navy has decided to equip its all the naval ships such as INS Kolkata, INS Kochi, and INS Chennai guided missile destroyers with the Barak 8 for air and missile defense. The LR-SAM has been jointly developed by DRDO and IAI, Israel to be launched from ship. It possesses high degree of maneuverability at target interception range
Source Wikipedia, Quora(Harsh B Mishra), Defence360, Saurav jha
