NEW DELHI: After India inked the mega $5.43 billion acquisition of five long-range S-400 Triumf air defence missile squadrons with Russia last month, the country seems set to bag yet another lucrative defence deal. The Russian shoulder-fired, anti-aircraft missile system IGLA-S has been identified as the L-1 (lowest bidder) over French and Swedish systems in the fray for the around $3 billion Indian competition.

Defence officials on Monday said the Russian IGLA-S very-short range air defence missile system (VSHORADS) had been confirmed as the L-1 over similar systems from Sweden (RBS 70NG) and France (Mistral), which too had passed muster during the trials. “The Russian system has been declared as the L-1 bidder in the competition that began in 2010,” said an official.

But the inking of the actual contract for around 1,000 such systems, each of which is manned by two soldiers and can track and destroy aircraft, helicopters and drones at short distances, is still some distance away in the backdrop of continuing strong protests by the Swedish SAAB and French MBDA, who have alleged that the Russian system did not meet the technical parameters laid down in the RFP (request for proposal) during the trials.

France even raised the matter on Monday, but the Indian defence ministry held that all the rules under the defence procurement procedure (DPP) were followed meticulously in the competition to acquire the VSHORADS.

The Indian decision has been hanging fire since January this year after the Russian system emerged as the L-1 after extensive trials spread over the last few years. The Army for long has been demanding a replacement for their existing air defence systems in the shape of the Russian IGLA-M systems, which were inducted in the 1980s.

