Press Trust of India,
In a move to overcome the vulnerability of its formations to threats from the air, the Army plans to induct the Israeli quick-reaction Spyder air defence system, officials sources said.
The Army has finalised plans to acquire four regiments of the Spyder systems equipped with Derby surface-to-air radar guided missiles and Python-5 infra-red missiles from Israel's Rafael armament company.
The Army, according to sources, has finalised the contract and the deal worth about Rs 1,100 crore and is awaiting the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).
The Spyder systems will be mounted on indigenous trucks and replace the Army's Russian-made OSA-AKM and Strela-10M missile systems.
The road-mobile Spyder system was developed by Rafael along with the MBT missile division and ELTA radar division. It is capable of countering threats from helicopters, aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and precision guided munitions.
The system can target aerial threats 1-35 km away. A Spyder squadron consists of a mobile command-and-control centre and four mobile firing units, each carrying up to six missiles.
The system is equipped with an EL-M-2106 ATAR 3-D surveillance radar and two operating stations. The radar can simultaneously track up to 60 targets.
