India, Israel joint venture LR SAM missile successfully tested

JERUSALEM: India and Israel today successfully test fired a long range surface to air missile jointly developed by them, marking a milestone in bilateral cooperation in developing advanced weapon systems.

"The Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM) is successfully flight tested against a flying target in a range in Israel, today," an official statement said.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) carried out the test in the presence of Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists and officials of the Indian Army.

The LRSAM system is jointly developed by DRDO and IAI Israel.

"All the systems including the radar, communication launch systems and the missile system have performed as expected and hit the target directly and damaged it. The system is developed for both Israel Defence Forces and Indian Armed Forces," the statement said.

DRDO chief and Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister Dr Avinash Chander witnessed the test along with IAI President Joseph Weiss and other top officials of the Israel Defence Forces.

Chander termed the event as a milestone in cooperation between the two countries in developing advanced weapon systems. PTI