1st Medium Range Missile Regiment of Army raised in E Command

Kolkata: In a significant boost to Indian Army’s air defence and capability development along Northern Borders, the first Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) Regiment is being raised in the Eastern Theatre.

In an issued statement, the Kolkata-based Eastern Command of the Indian Army shared that the Regiment has been equipped with an MRSAM weapon system indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The MRSAM weapon system also called the ‘Abhra’ weapon system, is a state-of-the-art medium-range air defence weapon system and is a joint venture of DRDO and Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) with active participation from Indian public and private defence industry partners, including MSMEs.

The Eastern Command, further commenting on the functionality and key highlights of the system, stated that it provides air defence against a vast array of aerial targets like fighter aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), helicopters, and sub and supersonic missiles. This indigenously developed state-of-the-art system is capable of engaging multiple targets simultaneously, it said.

Lt Gen RP Kalita, GOC-in-C, Eastern Command, during the first visit to MRSAM Regiment highlighted that with such a giant leap towards indigenisation in the defence sector, India will soon become self-reliant in defence manufacturing in line with the national aim of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.

According to sources, the new Army air defence regiment has been located in North Eastern Region given the region’s proximity to the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Indo-China border. This will have a strategic impact in the wake of the Indo-China tension near the border, especially in Arunachal Pradesh.