Modi’s Israel Visit: India is planning to talk about buying a powerful new air-to-air missile from Israel during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit there on Wednesday. The missile is called “Sky Sting” and it can hit enemy aircraft from very far away, up to about 250 km. This is much farther than many missiles that the Indian Air Force uses right now.
The idea is to first buy some missiles directly and later start making them in India with the help of Rafael Advanced Defence Systems. If the deal moves ahead, the missile will be tested carefully. After that it will be fitted on fighter jets and only then it will become fully ready for use.
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This plan also matches India’s goal of making more weapons inside the country with foreign partners. A similar example is the HAMMER guided bombs that are being made together by Safran and Bharat Electronics Limited.
A source explained how Israel has been offering this missile for some time. The source said, “Israel has been pitching the missile for some time and it is now being considered for integration on the Tejas Mk1A, with the initial tranche equipped with the Israeli ELM-2052 AESA radar,” a source said.
Currently India has ordered 180 Tejas Mk1A fighter jets. These jets are made by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Some delays in delivering these jets have happened. One reason is said to be problems in fitting the radar and matching it properly with the Indian Astra missile.
The Sky Sting missile was shown to the public about three years ago. It has already been tested in flight and seems to be working well in trials. But it has not yet been used in real war situations.
India’s Current Missiles
India already uses many systems made by Rafael. These include the I-Derby ER and Python-5 air-to-air missiles. India also uses the SPYDER air defence system and strike weapons like SPICE and Rampage. India is also working closely with Israel to build the Barak-8 air defence system, which is used by the Army, Navy and Air Force.
The Indian Air Force has both Indian and foreign long-range missiles. The Astra Mk1 missile was developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation and is produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited. This missile can hit targets at around 110 km. It is the main Indian-made missile right now.
Newer versions are also being built, the Astra Mk2 is expected to fly more than 200 km. The Astra Mk3, which uses special ramjet technology, could reach around 350 km in the future.
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The Air Force also uses Russian R-77 missiles on its Su-30MKI jets. It also has other advanced missiles like the Meteor, which can go beyond 200 km, the MICA which can go up to 80 km, and the I-Derby ER. This gives the Air Force different layers of attack range.
Bigger Defence Partnership
These missile talks are happening soon after India and Israel signed a new agreement between their defence ministries. The goal of this agreement is to move ahead from just buying and selling weapons. Both countries now want to design and build new systems together. They also want their defence companies to work more closely.
During the visit the Prime Minister Modi is also expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Defence cooperation is likely to be an important topic.
