Barak (, ''

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

'') is an Israeli

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

(SAM) designed to be used as a ship-borne point-defense missile system against aircraft,

anti-ship missile An anti-ship missile (AShM or ASM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea-skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. ...

s, and

UAVs An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Drone ...

Design

The Barak SAM system is designed to replace or complement gun-based

CIWS A close-in weapon system (CIWS ) is a point-defense weapon system for detecting and destroying short-range incoming missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defenses, typically mounted on a naval ship. Nearly all classes of ...

platforms, such as the

Phalanx CIWS The Phalanx CIWS () is an automated gun-based close-in weapon system to defend military watercraft automatically against incoming threats such as aircraft, missiles, and small boats. It was designed and manufactured by the General Dynamics Co ...

, with a more flexible and longer-range SAM. The missiles are mounted in an eight cell container (which requires little maintenance) and are launched straight up. The Barak SAM system's launcher uses a compact

vertical launching system A vertical launching system (VLS) is an advanced system for holding and firing missiles on mobile naval platforms, such as surface ships and submarines. Each vertical launch system consists of a number of ''cells'', which can hold one or mo ...

, with an 8-cell module weighing . Fire control is provided by an equally compact C3I system that weighs , which can either operate independently or in conjunction with other on-board sensors. Its C3I radar system provides 360-degree coverage and the missiles can take down an incoming missile as close as away from the ship. Each Barak system (missile container, radar, computers and installation) costs about $24 million. The system is designed to defend against aircraft and

s, including

sea-skimming Sea skimming is a technique many anti-ship missiles and some fighter or strike aircraft use to avoid radar and infrared detection and to lower the probability of being shot down during their approach to the target. Method Sea-skimming anti-s ...

missiles.

Flight test

The missile was tested on 24 March 2017 by the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

from during Operation Readiness Inspection in the Arabian Sea.

Operators

* - Chilean frigate Almirante Williams * - ** : Total 15 warships of which 11 are operational, includes: *** (Aircraft Carrier) *** (Aircraft Carrier) -- decommissioned *** Delhi-class destroyer *** ''Rajput''-class destroyer -- INS Ranvir, INS Ranvijay ***

Shivalik-class frigate The ''Shivalik'' class or Project 17 class is a class of multi-role frigates in service with the Indian Navy. They are the first warships designed with low observability features built in India. They were designed to have better stealth feat ...

*** Brahmaputra-class frigate *** Godavari-class frigate (decommissioned) * *

Indian Barak Missile scandal

On 23 October 2000, contracts were signed between the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

to procure seven Barak 1 systems for a $199.50 million and 200 missiles for $69.13 million reportedly over the objections of various groups, including A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the head of the

Defence Research and Development Organisation The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is an agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, charged with the military's research and development, head ...

. While some objections were of a procedural nature, Indian Navy chief Admiral

Sushil Kumar Sushil Kumar (born 26 May 1983) is a former Indian wrestler and two-time Olympic medallist. His 2008 Olympic bronze medal was only the second for India in wrestling, and the first since Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav's bronze medal at the 1952 Summ ...

was investigated for why the objections that the deal was overpriced and processed on a single-tender basis were not considered. On 24 December 2013, after investigating for more than seven years, the

Central Bureau of Investigation The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the domestic crime investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and gover ...

closed the case and filed a report in court that it did not find any evidence on the allegations. A day before, on 23 December,

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

A. K. Antony approved the procurement of an additional 262 Barak 1 missiles for .

References

External links

Barak 1 on IAI websiteBarak 1 on Rafael websiteBarak 1 brochure on Rafael website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barak Sam Surface-to-air missiles of Israel Naval surface-to-air missiles Israel Aerospace Industries missiles Close-in weapon systems 21st-century surface-to-air missiles MLM products