Israel to sell India $2 billion worth of 'Barak 8' missiles

DEBKAfile was founded by a team of journalists in June 2000 as an independent Internet Web site, providing an intelligence and security news service. April 6, 2017, 7:17 PM (IDT)

Israel Aerospace Industries and the Indian Defense Ministry signed a deal worth over $2 billion, the largest in the history of the Israeli defense industry, for the provision of IAI’s “Barak 8″ missiles to the Indian military. Under the main part of the agreement, worth $1.4 billion, mobile batteries including radar, communications, electronic warfare, and command and control systems are to be provided to India’s ground forces. The other part covers the provision of the naval version of the Barak 8 which will be installed on all Indian navy vessels.
The 4.5-meter-long, 54-cm-wide weapon is intended for defense against planes, helicopters, drones, anti-ship missiles, cruise missiles and more. It weighs 275 kg including a 60 kg warhead. The weapon can reach Mach 2 and has an effective range of 70 km.
The Barak 8 batteries include advanced radar that can protect against electronic warfare, scan multiple areas and identify multiple targets quickly.     
Some of the components of the missile system were developed in a joint project between IAI and India’s Defence Research and Development Organization. Besides IAI, a large number of Israeli companies including Elta and Rafael participated in the development and manufacturing of the weapon.

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