Indian Navy test-fires Barak-8 missile - know more about it

New Delhi: The Indian Navy on Tuesday test-fired the Barak 8 long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) for the first time from an Indian warship. Tests of the LRSAM system will continue on Wednesday, the Indian Navy said.

Here are a few interesting facts you must know:

• Barak 8 is being considered to be a major asset for the Indian Navy because it would add a potent system designed to destroy any anti-ship missile launched by Pakistani or Chinese Navy.
• Key to Barak 8's ability to intercept incoming missiles is Israel-made MF-STAR radar system, which is capable of simultaneously tracking hundreds of airborne targets to a range of more than 250 kilometers.
• The Barak-8 has been designed to defend against a variety of short-to-long-range airborne threats, including fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, drones and projectiles.
• The LRSAM programme consists of missiles, weapon control system, MFSTAR (radar), vertical launcher unit and two-way data link.
• The LRSAM system has been jointly developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd.(IAI), Israel.
• The system is to be deployed as the major missile system on the largest indigenously-built warship, INS Kolkata, which was inducted into the Navy last year.
• In November, the missile was successfully test-fired for the first time from an Israeli naval platform.
• It will also be deployed on other naval ships including the recently commissioned INS Kamrota.