Lockheed Martin briefs Indian Navy on Aegis missile defence system

Lockheed Martin briefs Indian Navy on Aegis missile defence system

New Delhi, April 23 (IANS) US aerospace major Lockheed Martin has briefed the Indian Navy on its ship-mounted Aegis ballistic missile defence system and is also open to integrating it with indigenously developed armament, company officials said Thursday.
“We have briefed the Indian Navy on what is the only system that can cope with the highest state-of-the art threats,” Dan Howard, Lockheed Martin’s senior advisor for Asia and Pacific affairs, said at a select media interaction here.

“As for the response, that’s something you’ll have to ask the Indian Navy about,” he added.

Howard also said the company was open to collaborating with India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on integrating its Prithvi Air Defence Shield (PADS) with the Aegis launcher and command and control system.

“Yes, we are open to collaborative measures. It all depends on what you (the Indian Navy and DRDO) want,” the official said.

The Aegis system, explained Richard G. Kirkland, president for South Asia of Lockheed Martin Global Inc., “is not meant to defend the ship it is mounted on but tasked to defend a broad area of sea lanes”.

He pointed out that 14 successful tests of the Aegis system had been conducted so far to intercept incoming targets within and outside the earth’s atmosphere, including one in November 2007 in which two short-range ballistic missiles were near simultaneously intercepted and destroyed.

And, in February 2008, a long-range missile fired from a specially-modified Aegis system successfully shot down a toxic US satellite with a precision strike that ensured that no “hot” debris fell earthwards.

“We completed the modification in 60 days,” Kirkland pointed out.

The Aegis system can track more than 100 missiles with its electronic systems and supercomputers, and engage them according to their threat priority.

It can engage, and strike, targets in the air, on sea, on the surface, and also sub-surface. The system’s command and decision-making core allows its computers to differentiate between missiles, debris, and friendly aerial vehicles, launching an attack only on what needs to be attacked.

Apart from the US Navy, the Aegis system is operational on Japanese, South Korean, Norwegian, Spanish and Australian naval vessels.

It is currently deployed on 85 ships around the globe with more than 20 additional ships planned or under contract.

Lockheed Martin briefs Indian Navy on Aegis missile defence system

the company was open to collaborating with India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on integrating its Prithvi Air Defence Shield (PADS) with the Aegis launcher and command and control system.

yes sounds good they want to integrate and mix up should be good but how about the command and control system of the aegis is it better to suffice india,s needs?i am for it because people want to integrate some of the important technology into the pad system this will only make the pad better, indirectly this offer also shows that how much companies as big as the L&M value the capability of the pad system ,india,s got a winner here any collaboration to improve it further should be welcome

It can engage, and strike, targets in the air, on sea, on the surface, and also sub-surface. The system’s command and decision-making core allows its computers to differentiate between missiles, debris, and friendly aerial vehicles, launching an attack only on what needs to be attacked.

The question is, is the PAD capable of being mounted on ships like the Aegis?

^^ PAD can be theoretically, AAD don't think so
Navy has plans for BARAK MR-SAM which can work as an ABM too

But the Aegis and Barak SAM is a completely different system.

^^Barak "MR-SAM" is under development and its purpose is somewhat similar to Aegis

Ahem ahem, the deal is good if unkle sam ji give us:

1 complete transfer of technology including that of terminal seekers used in Standard missile-6.

2 All the source codes, hardware config of Radar system etc etc.

Other wise the way with our own BMD system development is the better one.

Politically speaking, I don't think that the rather queer Obama administration would give such sensitive technology to us. A simple example being a block in the Navy's engine sales for the INS Shivalik series of stealth warships.

If offered as per our conditions, good; if not, even more better.

Guys isn't our ABM system can track 200 targets simultaneously and engage 20 targets aslo PAD/AAD combo can be fired in ripple mode too (I am sure about Akash so please confirm on this one). Seems like once we start developing something good foreign countries comes and try to stall the indigenous work.