By Xinhua,
New Delhi : India and France plan to co-produce surface-to-air missiles (SAM) Maitri, which will be offered to the Indian Army for replacing the near-obsolete Russian SAMs, the Hindu newspaper reported Monday.
“We have been assured of support at the highest political level by French President Nicolas Sarkozy after he discussed the project with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the former’s visit to New Delhi in January this year,” said Antoine Bouvier, chief executive officer of Europe’s MBDA, one of the world’s largest missile manufacturers.
The MBDA had initiated discussions with India’s missile manufacturer Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) in November 2005 on a completely new missile version. The next step is joint development with the DRDO and production by the BDL some of which can also be earmarked for export, said Bouvier.
The missile can strike at hostile aircraft nine km away and could also be used for protection of sensitive government and economic places.
“The decision to field the MBDL-BDL-DRDO Maitri missile was not easy. We could have responded with products here, but want to give priority to our long-term vision. The intention is to offer systems produced entirely in India rather than those that are partly made,” said Bouvier.
The MBDA has had a two-decade-old relation with the Indian defense sector. The company will also be involved in upgrading the French origin Mirage-2000 fighter fleet by supplying new missiles.