India’s defence system has been significantly improved as the Indian Air Force produced the second version of the SAMAR missile system. The IAF developed the SAMAR-2 on its own, using obsolete Russian-origin R-27 air-to-air missile systems in its inventory.

According to Air Marshal Vibhas Pande, SAMAR 2 is the missile system’s second iteration. He emphasises that the fundamental goal of this effort is to maximise the utility of obsolete missiles by incorporating them into an effective air defence system.

“This is only a demonstration of how to integrate the R27 missile into the Samar system. This is a capacity demonstration by the Indian Air Force that within its own intelligence and capability, in collaboration with the industry, we can design a system.

The IAF’s 7 Base Repair Depot Tughlakabad (BRD) created the SAMAR system by reusing outdated Russian-made air-to-air missiles. The IAF successfully tested the SAMAR system during the Astrashakti 2023 exercise at Suryalanka Air Force Station in Andhra Pradesh.