The Indian Army has received the first batch of 24 Russia-made Igla-S Man Portable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS), along with 100 missiles, as part of a larger deal which will see the rest being made in India.
The system is being procured to shore up Indian Army’s Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) capabilities.
Sources in the defence establishment said that while the Army did induct a very small number (24 launchers and 216 missiles) of Igla-S as part of emergency procurement in 2021, this is a larger order.
The Igla-S system consists of a single launcher and a missile. India signed the contract with Russia in November last year for 120 launchers and 400 missiles.
While the first batch has come from Russia, the rest of these systems will be made in India through Transfer of Technology (ToT) from Russia by an Indian company.
The Igla-S systems are under procurement for the new authorised air defence formations for high mountainous terrain along the northern border.
Sources said one regiment has received these systems, and a few more will get them as deliveries take shape.
The Request for Proposal (RFP) for VSHORADs was issued in 2010 under the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, after which the selection process began.
Later in 2018, Russia’s Rosoboronexport-manufactured Igla-S won a competitive bid as the lowest bidder (L1) over France’s MBDA-manufactured infrared homing short-range air defence system Mistral and Sweden’s SAAB-manufactured RBS 70 NG.
At the time, the other two contenders sent protest letters to the Indian Ministry of Defence and alleged rigging as they felt the Russian system failed to meet technical requirements.
MANPADS are portable surface-to-air missile systems and air defence units in high mountainous regions use MANPADS to neutralise low-altitude aerial threats such as aircraft, drones, and missiles.
The Indian Army already operates the Igla-1M systems, which need urgent replacement.
In 2012, then Army staff chief General V K Singh (Retd) wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that nearly 97 percent of the air defence was obsolete. The letter said the existing air defence systems failed at “effectively protecting against enemy air attacks”.
The order for Igla-S would fulfil the current requirement of the Army for such systems.
Once that happens, the Army will replace the older Igla systems with advanced laser-beam riding and infrared VSHORADS. The contract for the same is likely to be finalised soon.
In February this year, the Defence Research and Development Organisation conducted two flight tests of indigenous VSHORADS missiles from a ground-based portable launcher.
