Indian Army issues Rs 30,000 Cr tender to BEL for buying ‘Anant Shastra’ air defence missile systems

NEW DELHI: In a major boost to indigenisation in defence sector, the Indian Army has issued a tender to buy five to six regiments of ‘Anant Shastra’ surface-to-air missile systems to strengthen the air defence along the borders with Pakistan and China.

The tender has been issued by the Indian Army to the state-owned Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to buy the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) developed Anant Shastra air defence missile system, which was earlier known as the Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile system, defence officials said.

The project, estimated to cost around Rs 30,000 crore, will strengthen the Indian Army’s Army air defence, which played a crucial role in thwarting Pakistani drone attacks during Operation Sindoor, they said. The Indian Army AAD operates the MR-SAM, Akash and other smaller air defence systems and works in an integrated manner with the Indian Air Force to guard against any aerial threats.

The Defence Acquisition Council had cleared the project for buying the indigenous air defence systems soon after the Operation Sindoor action took place in May. Once approved, the highly mobile and agile system would be deployed along both western and northern borders.

Indigenous quick-reaction surface to air missile system, designed to intercept hostile aircraft and drones, being tested from integrated test range at Chandipur pic.twitter.com/ZK2YCfEZvn

— Rajat Pandit (@rajatpTOI) November 17, 2020

Anant Shastra air defence systems are highly mobile as they have the capability to search and track targets on the move and can fire at short halts, they said. With a range of around 30 km, the system would be complementing the existing systems in the forces like the MRSAM and Akash in short to medium ranges. The missile system performance has been extensively evaluated under both day and night operational scenarios during the trials.

During the four-day conflict with Pakistan, which used Chinese weaponry, the Indian Army’s Air Defence units destroyed the majority of the drones using L-70 and Zu-23 air defence guns, while the Akash and MRSAM played a crucial role along with the Indian Air Force’s Spyder and Sudarshan S-400 air defence systems.

The Army Air Defence is also getting a number of new radars, very short-range air defence systems, along with jammers and laser-based systems to deal with drones of Turkish and Chinese origin in the Pakistan Army. Army chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi has been pushing for increasing indigenisation in the force. The future indigenous systems likely to join the army include the Zorawar light tank and various other air defence systems. (ANI)