By Prarthana Mitra
Skies above Delhi and Mumbai are slated for a military makeover. Work on a mega-defence project is currently underway according to official sources, that aims to make the airspace over most major cities, including the national and the commercial capitals, virtually “impregnable.”
Objective
This move comes in the wake of China’s expanding air defence over the last few years. The centre has always been determined to equip the Indian Air Force with air power par excellence, highly-placed sources told ZeeNews, so as to put up a formidable front against adversaries.
“Missile shield over the national capital and many other cities are being strengthened considering the evolving security scenario. Procurement of missile systems, radars and weaponry is part of the initiative,” a senior military official told the news station.
Who’s selling
According to the sources, the Indian government is busy procuring a diverse range of air defence systems from the US, Israel and Russia. Indigenously developed missiles, launchers and command-and-control units will also be deployed, they added.
In a first, the US will be selling drones to a non-NATO country, with a $2 billion deal with 22 Sea Guardian drones already in place. India is also engaged in talks to purchase missiles, radars and air defence systems to attack helicopters, besides already looking at the US’ National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System-II.
Later this year, India and Russia will also be signing off on a deal for the S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems at a fetching price of Rs 40,000 crore. “The aim of the project is to make our skyline impregnable,” the official said.
Home grown defence systems
Alongside these efforts to strengthen the country’s air defence mechanism, India is arranging to induct the first batch of its intercontinental ballistic missile system. Agni V, with a strike range of 5,000 km and an ability to carry a nuclear warhead, is expected to significantly boost India’s aerial security. Currently, Agni-1 with a 700 km range, Agni-2 with a 2,000-km range, Agni-3 and Agni-4 with 2,500 km to more than 3,500-km range.
Very few countries have intercontinental ballistic missiles, save for the US, China, Russia, France and North Korea.
An air-launched variant of the Brahmos, successfully test-fired from a Sukhoi-30 combat jet last year, will also be a part of the armoury to make the country’s skyline unbreachable. Brahmos is the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile, which the defence ministry is now expediting to integrate with 40 Sukhoi combat aircraft.
Prarthana Mitra is a staff writer at Qrius