US Nod to Integrated Air Defence Weapon System | 11 Feb 2020

Why in News

The US has approved the sale of an Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS) to India at an estimated cost of $1.9 billion.

  • The objective of the deal is to modernise India’s armed forces and to expand its existing air defence architecture to counter threats posed by air attacks.

Key Points

  • IADWS will be used along with indigenous, Russian and Israeli systems to erect an ambitious multi-layered missile shield over the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi against aerial threats.
  • It comes amidst the massive military modernisation by China which is also flexing its military muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

Integrated Air Defence Weapon System

  • The Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS) is called the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS-II).
  • It is an upgraded version of the NASAMS developed by the US firm Raytheon in partnership with Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace of Norway.
  • The IADWS system provides integrated air missile defence and is currently deployed around Washington, DC.
  • It includes launchers, targeting and guidance systems, advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM) and Stinger missiles, 3D Sentinel radars, fire-distribution centres and command-and-control units.

Proposed Multi-Layered Air Defence Shield for NCT of Delhi

  • The innermost layer of protection will be through the NASAM-II.
  • The indigenous Akash defence missile systems, with a 25-km range, will form the layer over the NASAMS-II.
  • The next layer will be through highly automated and mobile S-400 systems.
  • Then will come the Barak-8 medium-range surface-to-air missile systems.
  • The outermost layer will be provided by the indigenous two-tier Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) System.

Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile

  • Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) is an American beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile capable of all-weather day-and-night operations.
  • Manufactured by Raytheon, more than 30 countries are using the AMRAAM.

Stinger Missiles

  • Stinger is a shoulder-fired Man-Portable Air Defense System (MANPADS) developed by the United States.
  • It is a fire-and-forget, lightweight (15kg) weapon with the reusable launcher.
  • Stinger missile is an extremely effective weapon for shooting down aircraft.

Source: TH