Barak 8 (, lit. "Lightning"), also known as LR-SAM or MR-SAM, is an Indian-Israeli jointly developed surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, designed to defend against any type of airborne threat including aircraft, helicopters, anti-ship missiles, and UAVs as well as ballistic missiles,Next-Gen: Barak-8 , defenseindustrydaily.com, Accessed 25 November 2014 cruise missiles and combat jets. Both maritime and land-based variants of the system exist.
Barak 8 was jointly developed by India's Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). It is produced by Israel's Directorate of Research and Development (DDR&D), Elta Systems, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and India's Bharat Dynamics limited (BDL), Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems (KRAS) and Tata Advanced Systems (TASL).
Background Barak 8 is loosely based on the original Barak 1 missile and is expected to feature a more advanced seeker, alongside range extensions that will move it closer to medium range naval systems like the RIM-162 ESSM or even the SM-2 Standard. Israel successfully tested the improved Barak II missile on 30 July 2009. The radar system provides 360 degree coverage and the missiles can take down an incoming missile as close as 500 meters away from the ship. Each Barak system (missile container, radar, computers and installation) costs about $24 million. Parallel to the Barak-8, IAI has completed development and is manufacturing the Barak MX system that broadens the Barak into a multi-layered air defense system employing unified smart launchers carrying Short, Medium, and Extended-Range interceptors. The Smart Launcher supports flexible deployment architecture for land and naval applications. Unlike the Barak-8 system, the interceptors, and sensors were developed exclusively by IAI to meet specific requirements from domestic and foreign customers.
Development The joint development of the LR-SAM missile (then named Barak-II) began in 2006 with an investment of . The missile is meant to be deployed on Project 15A destroyers which would enter service from 2012 onwards. The missile could be delivered to the Indian Armed Forces by 2013.
As reported in late May 2010, another contract, worth , was signed that year for the development of another variant – Medium Range SAM (MR-SAM) for the Indian Air Force to replace their in-service Pechora missiles. Another variant planned was 100-km range theatre defence version called the Extended Range SAM for the Project 15B destroyers.
As per a report on 1 July 2010, replying to a query on the Indo-Israeli joint venture to develop a medium range surface-to-air missile, DRDO chief V. K. Saraswat told The Economic Times, "More than 70 per cent of the content in the missile being developed with Israel would be indigenous." As the Times of Israel reported in 2017, the development of the missile is taking place in India, including the development of the homing system. Some components and Inflight subsystems are manufactured by TASL.
On 3 October 2024, Bharat Electronics and Israel Aerospace Industries announced the formation of joint venture BEL IAI AeroSystems. It will serve as the exclusive point of contact for technical and maintenance related life cycle support of MR-SAM in Indian Armed Forces.
Design (LR-SAM)
The Barak 8 has a length of about 4.5 meters, a diameter of 0.225 meters at missile body, and 0.54 meters at the booster stage, a wingspan of 0.94 meters and weighs 275 kg including a 60 kg warhead which detonates at proximity. The missile has maximum speed of Mach 2 with a maximum operational range of 70 km, which was later increased to ~90 km, which was later further increased to 100 km.Israel ship missile test for India , The Telegraph, 28 November 2015Gen Next missile defence shield built by Israel and India clears first hurdle, The Times of India, 28 November 2015 Barak 8 features a dual pulse rocket motor as well as thrust vector control, and possesses high degrees of maneuverability at target interception range. A second motor is fired during the terminal phase, at which stage the active radar seeker is activated to home in on to the enemy track. Barak 8 has been designed to counter a wide variety of airborne threats, such as anti-ship missiles, aircraft, UAVs drones and supersonic missiles. When coupled with a modern air-defence system and multi-function surveillance track and guidance radars, such as the EL/M-2248 MF-STAR AESA on board Kolkata-class destroyers, Barak 8 enables the capability to simultaneously engage multiple targets during saturation attacks.IAI PDF - Barak 8 , iai.co.il The aerodynamic characterization research was conducted at the National Aerospace Laboratories' 1.2m Trisonic Wind Tunnel Facility.
Israel Aerospace Industries describe Barak 8 as "an advanced, long-range missile defense and air defense system" with its main features being:IAI - Naval Barak 8 Israel Aerospace Industries Long Range Two way data link (GPS S band) Active Radar Seeker Missile 360-degree coverage Smokeless propulsion Thrust vector control Dual pulse propulsion Vertical Launch Multiple Simultaneous Engagements Point defence anti-ballistic missile
Structure A land-based Firing Unit (FU) or a Battery consists of 1 Combat Management System (CMS), 1 Mobile Power System (MPS), 1 Advanced Long Range Radar, 1 Radar Power System (RPS), 3 Mobile Launcher Systems (MLS), 3 Reloader Vehicles (RV), Field Service Vehicle (FSV) and missiles. Each launcher will have eight such missiles in two stacks and are launched in a canister configuration. As for ship-based launchers, the missiles are similarly stored in a 2×4 vertical launching system (VLS) modules.
Variants
Barak 8 series Long Range-Surface to Air Missile (LR-SAM): The ship-launched version used by the Indian Navy with an enhanced range of 100 km capable of engaging targets like missiles, fighter aircraft, maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), helicopter and sea-skimming missile. The LRSAM system includes multiple systems like advanced phased-array radars (EL/M-2248), command and control systems, launchers (2×4 configuration), and missiles with advanced radio-frequency (RF) seekers. Medium Range-Surface to Air Missile (MR-SAM): The land-based configuration of the missile used by the Indian Air Force and Indian Army. It consists of a command and control system, tracking radar (EL/M-2084), missile and mobile launcher systems. The system is also fitted with an advanced radio frequency (RF) Seeker. It has a range of 70 km according to the IAI. Barak-8ER: An ER (extended range) variant of the Barak 8 is under development, which will see the missiles maximum range increased to 150 km. Designed to engage multiple beyond visual range threats, the low launch signature Barak-8ER is understood to retain the same autopilot/inertial navigation system and active radar seeker guidance as the Barak-8, although some modifications to the software and to the missile control surfaces are likely. The booster increases the length of the missile at launch from its current 4.5 m to nearly 6 m, although the length in flight after the booster has been jettisoned may be slightly less than the base Barak-8 missile, if a TVC is not present. The missile diameter and fin spans are thought to be the same as the base Barak-8. The booster weight is currently unknown, although the missile's weight after the booster has been jettisoned is the same as that for the current Barak-8 configuration. Levy said that initial operational capability (IOC) for Barak-8ER will first be declared for the naval variant, followed by IOC for the land variant. He declined to comment on a launch customer for Barak-8ER, but noted "existing Barak-8 customers will be interested in this configuration because it offers additional capability to their current system".
Flight tests On 14 May 2010, the LR-SAM (also called "Barak-II" during that time) was successfully test fired in Israel at an electronic target and met its initial objectives. The second test of the missile was planned to be held in India sometime later that same year. On 10 November 2014, the Barak 8 was successfully test fired in Israel with all integrated operational components for both marine and land systems. "The current test validated all components of the weapon system to the satisfaction of the customer representatives". It was the first involving a full operational scenario. The scenario began with launching the target. After being detected by the system's radar, the weapon system calculated the optimal interception point, launched the Barak 8 missile into its operational trajectory that acquired the target, and successfully intercepted it. All the weapon system's components met the test's goals successfully. On 26 November 2015, a successful test was conducted against a fast-moving jet-powered drone by the Israeli Sa'ar 5-class corvette . This was also the first test done from a naval ship, and also confirmed the range extension from the previous 70 km to ~100 km. On 29 and 30 December 2015, the Indian Navy successfully test-fired Barak 8 LRSAM from . Two missiles were fired at high speed targets, during naval exercises undertaken in the Arabian Sea.
On 30 June 2016, India test-fired a land based version of the Barak 8 surface-to-air missile for the first time from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha, successfully hitting the target pilotless target aircraft (PTA) at 8:15 AM IST. the missile was again test fired for second time around noon where it again successfully hit a pilotless target aircraft over the Bay of Bengal. The test-firing of the missile was jointly carried out by Indian defence personnel, DRDO and IAI. On 1 July 2016, the MR-SAM (land-based version) was tested for the third time from the ITR at Chandipur in India, at 10:26 AM IST and the missile successfully hit a pilotless target aircraft, proving its reliability. On 20 and 21 September 2016, India successfully test fired the LRSAM for the first time against two pilotless target aircraft (PTA). The long range missile, developed for naval applications, was launched from a mobile launcher at the ITR in Chandipur at around 10:10 and 14:25 IST on both the days respectively. On 25 December 2016, Azerbaijan successfully tested the missile. On 10 February 2017, Israel Aerospace Industries test fired the missile at sea to verify its capabilities. On 16 May 2017, the Indian Navy successfully test fired the MRSAM variant from . According to a report, the course of the test was described as, "launch and engagement of the target, MFSTAR radar aboard the Indian naval ship identified the airborne threat and tracked it over its flying course, data was sent to the command center of the weapon system which launched the intercepting missile into orbit, having been successfully launched, the missile navigated itself to the target during flight it engaged the target, aligned its course, hit it and destroyed it, successfully demonstrating all the goals assigned to each component". On 29 November 2017, the Indian Navy test fired again the MRSAM from INS Kochi.
On 25 January 2019, the Indian Navy test fired the LRSAM from against an incoming aerial target flying at a low altitude. On 15 May 2019, the MRSAM variant was first operated in their full Joint Taskforce Coordinating (JTC) mode by the Indian Navy via their two : INS Kochi and INS Chennai. The JTC mode implements the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) of the Barak-8 MRSAM system. Both ships launched the missiles but only one was doing the actual engagement role. The demonstration was done on India's western seaboard. On 23 November 2020, the missile was successfully tested by India from ITR at Chandipur when a Banshee unmanned air vehicle (UAV) was hit mid-air. The entire mission trajectory from the launch to plunging into the sea was monitored by various radars and electro-optico instruments.