How is India Enhancing Its Air and Missile Defence Capabilities?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Strong collaboration between India and Israel in defense.
- Focus on self-reliance in indigenous manufacturing.
- Importance of technology showcases for operational readiness.
- Commitment to elevate India's position as a global defense hub.
- Emphasis on building resilient air defense infrastructure.
New Delhi, May 8 (NationPress) The Centre for Joint Warfare Studies, in partnership with Aerospace Services India (ASI) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), convened the Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile India Eco-System Summit 2.0 at the Manekshaw Centre here, with the goal of boosting India’s air and missile defence capabilities, as indicated by an official statement released on Thursday.
The opening session highlighted the increasing collaboration between the Indian and Israeli Defence sectors.
This full-day summit united key participants from India’s Defence ecosystem, showcasing collaborative successes and future opportunities in enhancing India’s air and missile defence capabilities under the initiatives of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' and 'Make-in-India'.
The summit placed emphasis on the accomplishments of ASI-IAI’s fully owned Indian subsidiary, which plays a pivotal role in delivering technical representation, life-cycle support, and local manufacturing for the Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) system and its related subsystems, such as the BARAK 8 missile and Air Defence Fire Control Radar.
It stressed the significance of developing a resilient and future-ready air defence infrastructure through continuous collaboration, capability enhancement, and localized innovation.
Crucial sessions of the summit included panel discussions on operational readiness and self-sufficiency in missile systems, as well as technology showcases featuring AI-driven service management systems like STORMS developed by ASI.
The forum engaged in discussions aimed at building India’s long-term capacity in indigenous Defence manufacturing.
The event saw notable participation from senior officials of the Ministry of Defence, Armed Forces, DRDO, Bharat Electronics Limited, Bharat Dynamics Limited, and prominent Indian Defence manufacturers.
Participants expressed a mutual commitment to elevate India’s status as a global hub for advanced weapon systems, with ASI reiterating its vision to become India’s leading defence service provider, the statement concluded.