India May Purchase Phalanx Weapon System
Dated 7/5/2008
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India may be looking at further purchases of the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System, which is mounted on the carrier USS Trenton that was sold to the Indian navy. Since renamed INS Jalashva, the Trenton arrived in India with two Phalanx weapons systems onboard. Raytheon Missile Systems is talking to India about purchasing more Phalanx systems for other ships in the Indian navy.
Phalanx is a rapid-fire, computer-controlled, radar-guided gun system designed to defeat anti-ship missiles and other close-in air and surface threats. A self-contained package, Phalanx automatically carries out functions usually performed by multiple systems – including search, detection, threat evaluation, tracking, engagement, and kill assessment.
Preliminary discussions are on with the Indian navy, which is looking at an annual maintenance contract. “We see this as a sign to move forward as we are talking turkey,” said Mark Nichol, Raytheon’s regional director.
“Our focus is to move from international sales to global business,” he added.
Nichol hopes the talks will lead to India eventually purchasing the Block 1B upgrade to the Phalanx system as well.
With its surface mode configuration, Block 1B would augment the anti-air warfare capability by adding a forward looking infrared sensor and optimized gun barrels to the Block 1A configuration. It allows Phalanx to be used against littoral threats such as helicopters and high-speed boats. Block 1B also adds new control stations with situational awareness that allows operators to visually track and identify targets before engagement
Meanwhile, Raytheon has signed seven memorandums of understanding with private companies in India that produce a wide range of products in the areas of communications, radar, naval systems, telecommunications and broadcast, electronic warfare, tank electronics, opto-electronics, professional electronic components, and solar photovoltaic systems. The partner companies provide offset potential for projects ranging from manufacturing to defense, according to Raytheon.