Ceremony for presenting the missile to India
Ceremony for presenting the missile to IndiaIsrael Aerospace Industries

In the city of Hyderabad, India, this week a Barak 8 missile was delivered in its maritime version, the first to be produced in India, to the Indian defense minister.

The missile is part of IAI's (Israel Aerospace Industries) Barak 8 air defense system, which includes advanced systems to be installed in recently-completed Indian missile ships that have been declared operational.

The Indian defense minister praised the cooperation in technology development and noted that "this is a historic day for India."

"We have become proud owners of one of the most sophisticated system in the world to help the Indian Navy defend its country. India must be prepared for a variety of scenarios and equip its operational arms with the best of advanced systems. This system is an example of the capabilities of the Indian economy and industry. We must continue to develop infrastructure and local defense production as part of our defense capabilities, " the minister said.

Boaz Levy, IAI's Vice President and Director of the Missile and Space Division, who attended the ceremony, noted that "the delivery of the first missile manufactured in India to the operational branches is an exciting situation in which a technological dream becomes a reality. This is another milestone in the long-standing cooperation between IAI and the government of India, which expresses a technological and engineering effort of the highest standard."

The project is part of a large-scale procurement program by the Indian government. As part of the Indian government's policy, serial production lines have been established in India for the missiles, together with Rafael and a local company.

As part of the activity on the local assembly line, missile parts manufactured in Israel integrate with other parts manufactured in India to create a complete missile.

Over the past few years, IAI has signed several deals for the sale of air defense systems from the Barak 8 family to India, including $ 2.5 billion worth of deals in recent months.