By Staff Correspondent
The Sudarshan Close-in Weapon system is an uber-sophisticated Short-Range Air Defence System (SHORAD) offering by L&T Defence. The weapon system has proven to be a massive draw at Defexpo 2022. The Sudarshan SHORAD is trifurcated into three critical platforms: a tracking radar and Command and Control (C2) unit, a fire control radar and a firing unit. Indian Aerospace and Defence’s correspondents on the ground got a 360-degree overview of the platform and learnt about its potential end-users. Themed’ Path To Pride’ to showcase indigenous defence and aerospace technologies and innovations, L&T Defence’s indigenous SHORAD has been seen as a path-breaker.
The product has been touted to be indigenously designed and developed with a level of indigenous content unparalleled by any other system. J.D Patil – now a Member of the Executive Committee of Management at Larsen and Toubro and Advisor to Defence & Smart Technologies to the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of L&T, indicated that this latest offering can compete globally. The Sudarshan SHORADS has completed the No-Cost No-Commitment (NCMC) evaluations for the Indian Air Forces (IAF) 240-guns program. The company bid the lowest in these tests. While the IAF program is yet to formally be set in stone, the former Member of the Board and Whole Time Director is optimistic as the Indian Army is also looking for something similar.
Here at DefExpo 2022, the Sudarshan SHORAD is bifurcated for display at two locations. The electro-optic sight and fire control system (EOFCS) is housed at the company’s indoor publication near the L&T MBDA stand, while the tracking radar and C2 units are displayed outdoors. It may be poignant to note that L&T also offers towed gun systems for which it has collaborated with Nexter Systems, a French government-owned weapons manufacturer based in Roanne, Loire.
The Sudarshan SHORADS boasts state-of-the-art technology. It comes equipped with a 3D Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) four-faceted radar, which allows the end-user complete surveillance coverage. The air defence system boasts sophisticated threat identification, detection and classification capabilities. It is designed to deal with hostile aerial assets ranging from drones, low-hovering choppers, and low-level, high-speed, and ultra-light aircraft.
The Sudharshan’s fire control radar is integrated with electronic countermeasures (ECCM) and has significantly high angular tracking accuracy. The SHORAD has a gun capable of hitting targets at a range of 3.5 kilometres with a firing rate of 300 rounds per minute. L&T’s new air defence system is equipped with ECCM and boasts an automatic gun levelling and tilt correction system. This is seen as an asset in rapid deployment in high-intensity operational environments. The Sudarshan, by all accounts at the 12th instalment of DefExpo, has undoubtedly created an impression and is one of many more projects being spearheaded by L&T Defence.
