Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) has entered into an agreement to provide Barak-8 advanced defense systems – jointly developed by Israel and India – to Israel Navy’s Sa’ar-6 corvettes to protect its economic zones and strategic facilities faced with diversified marine threats, The Economic Times reported Thursday.
Barak-8 is an operational air and missile defense system deployed by the Israeli navy, as well as by India’s navy and air forces. Designed to defend against a variety of short-to-long-range airborne threats – including fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, drones and projectiles – the advanced defense system incorporates a state-of-the-art phased array multi-mission radar, two-way data link, and a flexible command and control system, enabling users to simultaneously engage multiple targets day and night and in all weather conditions.
“The Barak-8 system was chosen after it was demonstrated to meet the operational requirements and future challenges faced by the Navy,” IAI said in a statement.
Their CEO and President, Joseph Weiss, added: “Barak-8 is one of IAI’s leading systems and a growth engine for IAI in sales to its customers. The new deal adds to several Barak-8 contracts entered over the past few years with total value of more than $5 billion, which is another feather in the system’s glorious cap.”
Boaz Levi, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Systems, Missiles and Space Group at IAI called the system “a proud member of the exclusive club that hosts Israel’s most successful global military developments.”
“The procurement of Barak-8 System for the Sa’ar-6 corvettes will expand the operational capabilities of the Israeli navy, including the defense of Israel’s territorial and exclusive economic zone,” Levi observed, adding that, “With land and naval modules, the system provides a complete response to a wide range of threats and is developed to work with other systems.”
The Barak-8 was developed by IAI in collaboration with Israel’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development and India’s Defense Research and Development Organization, as well as the navies of both countries, RAFAEL, IAI’s ELTA Group and local industries in India.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Israel in 1992, bilateral trade and economic relations have progressed rapidly – climbing 2,000% since the countries formalized relations 26 years ago.
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