Kavach
INS Chennai (D65) launching a Kavach rocket.
TypeDecoy system
Place of originIndia
Service history
In serviceMay 2012−present
Used by Indian Navy
Production history
DesignerOrdnance Factory Board
Manufacturer
Unit cost₹6–7 lakh[1]
Produced2012−present
No. built4,000+[1]
VariantsLong Range, Medium Range, Short Range

Kavach (lit. 'Armour') is an anti-missile naval decoy system to distract radar-guided missiles from their targets and act as a system for self-defence. It was designed and developed by the Ordnance Factory Board for the Indian Navy.

Development

The Indian Navy previously procured chaff rocket systems from the Soviet Union. Supplies came to a halt following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) took up the challenge to design and develop a chaff rocket system to achieve self-reliance in this field.[1][2] OFB Director General and Chairman, D.M. Gupta, stated in May 2011 that the company had created two prototypes, successfully conducted the first trial, and would conduct a second and final trial later that year before the system was inducted into the Navy.[3]

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, causing the incoming radar-guided missile to mistake the chaff for the actual target, and get locked onto the chaff instead of the actual target.[2] Each Kavach rocket costs around ₹6 lakh (US$7,500)–₹7 lakh (US$8,800).[1]

The Kavach system has chaff rockets of three different versions based on the range:[2]

  • 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.[2]

Production

The first batch of Kavach rockets were formally handed over to the Navy on 25 May 2012 by the Ammunition Factory Khadki (AFK), Pune which manufactures the rockets,[2] while the rocket launchers are manufactured at the Machine Tool Prototype Factory (MTPF), Mumbai.[4]

AFK was contracted to deliver around 4,000 Kavach variants to the Indian Navy by 2015.[1][5]

Operators

The first ship to be equipped with Kavach was the anti-submarine corvette INS Kamorta (P28).[6] Ship classes fitted with Kavach include:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "AFK hands over indigenous RGB versions,Kavach system to Navy". The Indian Express. 2012-05-25. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Navy now has indigenous 'Kavach'". The Times of India. 25 May 2012. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  3. ↑ "Kavach Rockets For Indian Navy". www.indiatvnews.com. 2011-05-21. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  4. ↑ "Indian Ordnance Factories: Machine Tool Prototype Factory". Archived from the original on 2011-06-22. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
  5. ↑ "Indian Navy receives RGBs and Kavach decoy systems". Naval Technology Market and Customer Insight. 28 May 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "Navy to get first indigenous anti-submarine warship, INS Kamorta tomorrow". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
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