Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems (KRAS), a joint venture between Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd and Israel-based Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd, Tuesday rolled out its first batch of the 1000 midsection Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) kits to the Indian Army and Indian Air Force.

These missile sections will then be ‘forwarded’ to Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), a defence PSU, for further and future integration.

Speaking to the press, Brig. Gen. Pinhas Yungman, who heads the Air and Missile Defense Systems division of Rafael Advanced Defense System (RADS) said, “We have been a reliable partner to the Indian armed forces for almost three decades, and these missile kits are a testimony of our commitment to ‘Make in India’ cause. We are confident KRAS will not only build products for the Indian armed forces but will, at the same time, trigger and help achieve the Indian government’s vision of exports from India.”

The event, according to Rudra B Jadeja, the Chief Executive of KRAS, marked the beginning of the journey of an MSME Indian company that is committed not only to the “Make-in-India” concept but also taking its stride towards the larger “Atma Nirbharta” idea (self-reliance). In this effort the company has fused Rafael’s state-of-the-art technology with the engineering excellence of the Kalyani Group, he said.

“This is the beginning of a new era, filled with self-confidence, a marked step-change in technological expertise, and a collective demonstration of capability to be the global manufacturing hub for defence products, said Baba Kalyani, Chairman/ Managing Director, Kalyani Group, in a statement.

“We are confident of completing the order far ahead of the stipulated time, and support the armed forces with the best in class missile kits. Apart from the missile kits, we will extend our support in Maintenance and Repair Operations (MRO) as in-service Air Defence Missile System for the armed forces,” he added.

Rajinder Bhatia, President and the CEO of BFL Defence said that as KRAS continues to be a joint venture and high technology manufacturing unit, a separate incubation centre is already set up in Hyderabad’s Gachibowli, looked after by the KRAS CEO, to support the technology, R&D, design, and engineering aspects.

“At a suitable time, all that will get merged when we have products coming on. Only this morning, we decided that we will start looking at not only manufacturing but also certain R&D packages required in India in a collaborative effort,” he added.