Article Posted on : - May 11, 2016

NEW DELHI (PTI): Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said the Army is pursuing procurement of foreign-made Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile, a move which comes amid reports that the force is not satisfied with the indigenously developed Akash surface to air missiles.

In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Parrikar sought to differentiate the two missile systems saying QRSAM is a separate category of missiles.

Media reports had earlier said that the Army has decided to go for Israeli QRSAM to take on enemy fighters, helicopters and drones after it found that the Akash missile was not fast enough to guard its forward tactical battlefield areas.

Also, the Army has argued that the Akash missiles have a higher radar ground since several vehicles and equipment is needed for the system.

"The Akash weapon system falls under the short range surface to air missiles category and QRSAM is a separate category of missiles. Procurement of QRSAM is a separate multi-vendor case under the Buy (Global) category and vendors from Israel are among the competing firms," the Minister said.

He added that production of Akash has also been ramped up to meet the requirements of the Air Force and the Army.

"As the Akash system evolves through the process of continuous development, its current short-comings are bound to be addressed and the missile has the potential to become India's mainstay in the category of SRSAM," he said.