Director General of Army Air Defence (AAD), Lt Gen Sumer Ivan D’Cunha said “We are hoping to get the contract for the indigenously developed Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) system in four to five months. DRDO said that once the contract is done, First of Prototype Model (FoPM) will be there in 12 months because we already trial-evaluated the equipment. So, in 18 months they would be able to produce and eventually have in both wheeled and tracked configurations subsequently. 

QRSAM, with a range of 30 km, is being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). 

Lt. Gen. D’Cunha said “We have a huge revolution in military affairs in warfare and disruptive technologies by drones, single drones, loiter munitions and smart drones. We have the whole capability manifesting; we really got a disruptive warfare air defence challenge.”

Lt. Gen. also said air burst ammunition, laser and microwave weapons and smart ammunition were in various stages of procurement. While high-end air defence systems were being upgraded, equipping existing L-70 and Zu-23 air defence guns with air burst ammunition was a priority.