- The Indian Army has approved the emergency purchase of 240 Spike anti-tank guided missiles made by Israel and Igla-S Very Short Range Air Defence Systems(VSHORAD) from Russia to meet immediate operational requirements.
- The procurement was approved under new financial powers for emergency procurements sanctioned by the Defence Ministry.The emergency power gives the Army vice chief of staff the authorization to purchase goods and material worth up to 300 crore without having to get prior approval from the Defence Ministry.
- Spike is an Israeli fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile and anti-personnel missile with a tandem-charge high-explosive anti-tank(HEAT) warhead,currently in its fourth-generation.It has been developed and designed by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.It is available in man-portable,vehicle-launched and helicopter-launched variants.
- IGLA-S (SA-24) is the latest model of Russian man-portable air-defense systems(MANPADS) technology offered to the Indian Army.Igla-S system is designed for use against visible targets as tactical aircraft,helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles,cruise missile,head-on or receding in the presence of natural (background) clutter and countermeasures.
Army invokes emergency powers for missiles deal
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