Kavach
Kavach is an anti-missile naval decoy system to distract radar-guided missiles from their targets and act as a systems for self-defence.
Development
The Ordnance Factory Board took up the challenge to develop the rockets and its system to achieve self-reliance in this field.[1]
It was formally handed over to the navy on May 25, 2012 by Ammunition Factory Khadki (AFK), Pune which manufactures the rockets, while the rocket launchers are manufactured at the Machine Tool Prototype Factory (MTPF), Mumbai .[2]
Design
The Kavach decoy system releases chaff made up of silver coated glass fiber. The chaff forms a clutter which remains suspended in the air so that the incoming guided missile confuses the chaff as the actual target and gets locked onto the chaff instead of the actual target.
The Kavach system has chaff rockets of three different versions based on the range:[3]
- Long Range: 12 km (7.5 mi)
- Medium Range: 5 km (3.1 mi)
- Short Range: 1 km (0.62 mi)
These versions are fired in different situations based on incoming threats.
Production
AFK is expected to deliver around 4,000 Kavach variants over the next three years.[1]
Uses
The first ship to be equipped with Kavach was INS Kamorta. Now it is on-board all the new vessels of the Indian Navy such as:
- Kamorta-class corvette
- Kolkata-class destroyers
- Visakhapatnam-class destroyers
- Shivalik-class frigates
References
- "AFK hands over indigenous RGB versions, Kavach system to Navy". The Indian Express. 25 May 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
- http://ofbindia.gov.in/units/index.php?unit=mpf&page=products&lang=en
- "Navy now has indigenous Kavach". Times of India. 25 May 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2014.