Amidst shortages in shoulder-fired missiles for countering aerial threats along its borders, the Indian Army is advancing two projects worth over Rs6,800 crore ($815 million) to domestically develop Very Short Range Air Defence Systems.
Officials from the Defence Ministry stated that the current inventory of VSHORAD missiles in the Indian Army and Indian Air Force consists solely of Infrared (IR) homing guidance systems.
"At present, there is a Rs4800 crore ($575 million) project in which a public sector unit headquartered in Hyderabad and a private sector Pune-based firm have been engaged for developing a laser beam riding VSHORADS which would be used by the forces to protect the borders to provide protection from enemy drones, fighter aircraft and choppers," the defence official said to ANI
The project aims to develop 200 launchers and 1,200 missiles to be supplied to both the Indian Army and Air Force, with the Indian Army taking the lead as the primary user of these missiles.
Out of the planned 1,200 missiles, approximately 700 are allocated for the Indian Army, with the remainder designated for the Indian Air Force.
Under the Indian Designed, Developed, and Manufactured clause of the Defence Acquisition Procedure, the two firms involved are required to produce a prototype of the system, the ANI noted.
However, according to industry sources, progress in the program has been disappointing. Another initiative underway is the design and development project led by the DRDO to create an infra-red homing-based VSHORADS system.
The DRDO is collaborating with two of its development and production partners, Adani Defence and I-Comm, to produce laser beam-riding VSHORADS.
Officials have indicated that the DRDO has conducted tests on the system based on a tripod, and the next step is to downsize the system to transform it into a shoulder-fired weapon system.
Meanwhile, in response to immediate needs, the Indian Army and Air Force have used emergency procurement powers to acquire approximately 96 launchers of the Russian Igla. Of these, 48 have already been received as part of the initial tranche of orders under EP-1, with the remaining 48 expected to be delivered soon.