Indian Navy successfully tests Barak 8

Indian Navy successfully tests Barak 8 interceptor missile:

Barak 8, an interceptor missile built jointly by the experts from India and Israel, was successfully tested in the Indian Ocean. The Indian government has signed a deal worth 1.1 billion dollars with Israel in November 2009 for the supply of Barak 8 missiles.

The Barak 8 missile is designed to protect naval cavalries and offshore petroleum rigs from missile attacks. The Barak 8 can trace incoming missiles from a distance of 100 kilometres and can hit the target at a speed of Mach 2 (680 metre per second).

Here are a few points you need to know about the Barak 8 missile:

Barak 8 is an Indian-Israeli surface-to-air missile, designed to defend against airborne threats including aircraft, helicopters and anti-ship and cruise missiles

Each missile is 4.5 metre long and weighs 2 kilogram. It has the capability to carry a 60-kilogram warhead that detonates at proximity with the target

The Indian Navy is going to install the missile system in the INS Kolkata-class destroyers, the INS Visakhaptnam-class destroyers, the Kamorta-class corvettes, INS Vikramaditya, INS Vikrant and the Project 17A frigates.

The Indian Navy is prioritising the making of indigenous vessels under Prime Minister Modi's call of Make in India. The inclusion of an advanced TRV like INS Astradharani certainly adds to the self-reliance of India's offshore defence mechanism.

Here are 7 facts about the Indian Navy you would take pride in:

1. Indian Navy is not a newborn child. The first tidal wave port that helps naval fleet go offshore is believed to have been built at Lothal in Gujarat in 2300 BC.

2. The Navy has a special task force of marine commandos named MARCOS alias 'Magarmach'.

3. The Indian Navy has a dedicated satellite for navigation, named GSAT-7.

4. The Navy also embarks on humanitarian missions such as disaster management in and outside India.

5. The first military operation conducted by the Indian Navy was against the Portuguese in 1961 during the liberation of Goa.

6. The Indian Navy possesses the fastest cruise missile in the world called, BrahMos. It travels at a speed of Mach 2.8 to Mach 3.0 (Mach 1= 1,234 kilometres per hour).

7. The Indian Navy also has the biggest naval academy in Asia. The Indian Naval Academy in Ezhimala, Kerala, has an area span of around 2,450 acres and enrolls up to 1,200 cadets every year.