The clearance for the acquisition from America has come at a time when the US is objecting to the acquisition of S-400 air defence missile system from Russia and has raised the issue of imposition of sanctions under its newly-imposed laws
Seeking to protect the national capital territory from enemy cruise missiles, drones and aircraft, the Narendra Modi government has approved the procurement of a missile system from America which is expected to be worth over Rs 6,500 crore.
"The National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS) has been approved for the Delhi Area Defence project to provide aerial protection to the capital from airborne threats by the Nirmala Sitharaman-led Defence Acquisition Council," highly placed government sources told MyNation.
As a next step for the deal, India would send a letter of request to the American administration for implementing the government to government deal, sources said.
The clearance for the acquisition from America has come at a time when the US is objecting to the acquisition of S-400 air defence missile system from Russia and has raised the issue of imposition of sanctions under its newly-imposed laws.
The programme is being undertaken as the threat perception from incoming enemy missiles, drones and aircraft are on the rise because of their increasing use by terrorist organisations such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The same anti-missile system is used by the Americans to guard their national capital region in Washington DC and has been in deployment there since 2005.
The Indian Air Force has been using the Russian-origin missile systems for giving protection to the national Capital and the vital assets and vital points. The NASAMS is claimed by the Americans to be a state-of-the-art air defence system that can maximise the ability of the users to quickly identify, engage and destroy current and evolving enemy aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicle or emerging cruise missile threats.
"It is owned by seven countries and has been integrated into the US National Capital Region's air defence system since 2005. In addition to the US, it is in service in Norway, Finland, Spain and the Netherlands," says the firm which manufactures the missile system for the US government on its website about the air defence system.
India recently started inducting the long-delayed Rs 20,000 crore SPYDER missile systems into the Air Force and some of the systems have already been deployed on the western frontier to thwart any misadventure from the Pakistan side.
India has also signed a deal worth Rs 17,000-crore for Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) system with Israel to equip the Army Air Defence Corps to take out enemy planes and drones at ranges of up to 70 kilometres in the air.
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