New Delhi: India is set to purchase a large number of medium range surface-to-air missiles (MRSAM) to plug holes in its air defence systems, according to reports emanating from the ministry of defence (MoD). Reports suggest that ahead of the purchase the MoD may have issued a request-for-information (RFI) to global missile manufacturers asking for the supply of such systems to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in a short time-frame.

The RFI, reports suggest, may have been issued this week.

"The defence ministry intends to procure the MRSAM system for the Indian Air Force and the system will be required for air defence of vital areas and points. The MRSAM is required in an early time-frame," a senior IAF officer has been quoted as saying in media reports.

The MRSAM will have to be capable of all-weather, all-terrain, day-and-night operations. The system should be capable of engaging multiple, differing nature of targets in a network-centric operational environment.

The MRSAM would upgrade the IAF's existing inventory of out-dated Soviet-vintage OSA-AK and Pechora air defence missile systems.

MRSAMs normally have a range of 70-90 km to engage targets.

Reports also suggest that this intended purchase will be over and above the 18 MRSAM units that India is already committed to purchase from Israel in a $1.9 billion deal signed in 2009.

India's deal with Israel to develop the Barak-8 MRSAM project is a four year, Rs10,000 crore (about $1.93 billion) deal. The project is intended to provide India's defence services with nine advanced air defence squadrons, each with two MR-SAM firing units.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will be the key partner in the project, along with India's DRDO, and will contribute most of the applicable technology. The co-development programme is patterned after the immensely successful joint Indo-Russian BrahMos supersonic missile project.

The joint Indo-Israeli MRSAM project surpasses the BrahMos project in size, and may be the largest joint defence development project ever undertaken between India and any other country.

As part of the agreement Israeli partners have agreed to transfer all relevant technologies and manufacturing capabilities to India.

The project will involve a 4-year system design and development phase to develop unique system elements, and also produce an initial tranche of the land-based missiles.