Indian Air Force test-fires SAMAR air-defence system

The SAMAR air-defence system – seen here at Aero India 2023 – features two refurbished Russian Vympel R-73E infrared‐guided air-to-air missiles mounted on a Stallion 4×4 Mk IV BS-III truck. (Janes/Saketha Potlapalli)

The Indian Air Force test-fired its newly inducted Surface to Air Missile for Assured Retaliation (SAMAR) air-defence system during Exercise ‘Vayu Shakti-24′, which took place in the Pokhran range near Jaisalmer on 17 February.

According to a press release by the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) on 17 February, the Indian Air Force test-fired SAMAR – along with the Akash surface-to-air missile weapon system – which destroyed “multiple aerial targets”.

SAMAR was inducted into the air force in December 2023, when the service first test-fired at Air Force Station Suryalanka, located in the southern coastal region of India.

SAMAR is a part of India’s short-range air-defence system, and it can intercept low-flying aerial targets, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, loitering munitions, and attack helicopters, up to a range of 12 km at a maximum speed of Mach 2.5.