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2021-02-02

Thales, BDL Sign Deal on STARStreak Missile System

Thales and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), a Government of India enterprise, recently signed a Teaming Agreement on the STARStreak Air Defence system.

The accord, reached with the support of both the Governments of India and the United Kingdom, is expected to not only strengthen the missile system for the Indian Army, but also give a boost to the ‘Make in India’ campaign.

The STARStreak missile system has been in service in the British Army and has been procured by defence forces worldwide.

The fastest missile in its category, STARStreak is unique due to its three laser-guided darts, which cannot be jammed by any known countermeasure. It has the capability to defeat any air target – even armoured helicopters – as the last line of defence.

The STARStreak High Velocity Missile was designed to provide close air defence against conventional air threats, such as late unmasking and crossing fixed wing fighters and pop up armoured helicopters. A velocity of Mach 3+ makes it most effective when dealing with targets having a short exposure time.

The Teaming Agreement was signed by Thales and BDL in the presence of UK and Indian Government representatives at a virtual ceremony on January 13.

While Jeremy Quin (Minister for Defence Procurement) and Mark Goldsack (Head of UK Defence & Security Exports) witnessed the signing ceremony in the UK, from India, the ceremony was witnessed by both the Director General of Army Air Defence and a representative from the Army Design Bureau.

N.P. Diwakar, Director (Technical), BDL, Alex Cresswell, CEO Thales in the UK and Emmanuel de Roquefeuil, VP and Country Director, Thales in India, signed the agreement in the presence of Commodore Siddharth Mishra (Retd), Chairman and Managing Director, BDL.

In the words of UK Defence Minister Jeremy Quin: “Co-operation between the UK and India continues to develop at pace with much closer ties within our defence equipment programmes and systems. The signing marks the start of the next-generation of missile systems for the Indian Army and reinforces our commitment to work with international partners.”

BDL will now become a part of the STARStreak global supply chain, providing the opportunity for export of Indian-manufactured components to existing and future STARStreak Air Defence customers, including the UK Armed Forces.

BDL was established in Hyderabad in 1970 as a manufacturing base for guided missiles and allied defence equipment. In 2017, Thales and BDL had signed a Memorandum of Understanding to assess the opportunity for the transfer of technology for STARStreak.

The latest agreement will provide the opportunity for BDL to offer a ‘Make in India’ STARStreak solution to the Indian Government, with a capability that will match the immediate air defence needs of the Indian Army and Air force, and with 60 per cent of the system manufactured in India.

It represents an opportunity for further UK and Indian Industrial co-operation and will cement the ambition for closer collaboration between the two nations.

Alex Cresswell, CEO of Thales in the UK said: “The signing is a significant milestone for all parties concerned and I look forward to Thales and BDL developing a close working relationship. This is good news for our business in Belfast in Northern Ireland, for the strong supply chain of UK SMEs with whom we work and for our teams in India. We are thankful to both the Governments for their strong support to this excellent initiative.”

Commodore Siddharth Mishra (Retd), Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Dynamics Limited, pointed out that “partnership between Thales and BDL in this project with Transfer of Technology for STARStreak will create a new business opportunity for BDL and its Supply Chain Partners in India. BDL will be able to enhance its footprints in the export market in addition to domestic market. The Government of India’s ‘ease of doing business’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiatives have created a congenial ecosystem for the foreign OEMs to tie up with Indian Industries like BDL to establish the production facility in India.”

Choice of Platforms

Engagement with STARStreak can be supported from various Land platforms. STARStreak has also been demonstrated from Naval and Air platforms.

The STARStreak hit-tiles are designed to defeat both heavily armoured and light skin aerial targets. On penetrating the target the hit-tiles, which have very high levels of kinetic energy, detonate internally to inflict maximum damage and an optimised lethality. The strike is highly effective, yet collateral damage is minimised due to the precision of the weapon system.

Thales is exhibiting at stand 08-A09

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