| Air Defence Upgrade Project |
| Air
defense of areas of strategic importance is provided by means of
a multi-layer system and surface-to-air missiles are a critical
element. Existing S-75M3 Volhov missiles performance is no longer
satisfying and that is why a decision was made concerning their
replacement with upgraded Raytheon Hawk medium range surface-to-air
missiles. The upgrading program of these missiles will start this
year and they will enter the service starting with 2007. For this
purpose, the Ministry of Defense initiated an acquisition
contract with Raytheon Co. The contract also has an off-set component,
providing American companies cooperation with Romanian subcontractors.
|
MIM-23 Missile
The HAWK missile (Homing All the Way Killer) is a beam homing surface-to-air missile launched from a mobile chassis. It is a all the way semiactive missile by means of a control unit. This type of missiles have been employed starting with 1960 for the air defense of West Germany.
In service with the Romanian Air Force, the system will integrate specific equipment pertaining to HAWK PIP III with SENTINEL 3D radars and new fire distribution centers. The first battery will enter the service in 2007.
