Colombia allocates US$131 million for the purchase of the Barak MX anti-aircraft system

The Colombian Air Force has agreed, on December 30, with the company Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) the purchase of the Barak MX anti-aircraft defense system.

The contract, which amounts to US$131.2 million -through process No. 23-2022 MDN-FAC- has a term of execution and full payment of September 30, 2026, as confirmed to this newspaper by financial specialist Diego Alvarado.

This process occurs in development of the need to provide a missile system to the Comprehensive National Air Defense System (Sisdan) and within the construction of minimum deterrent capabilities of the Comprehensive National Defense System (Siden).

Already last May, the Colombian Armed Forces had given the go-ahead for the acquisition of the Israeli system, as Infodefensa.com reported at the time.

A MEDIUM RANGE SYSTEM

The Barak MX is an integral medium and long-range thrust vectoring air defense system, in ranges ranging from 500 meters to 30, 70 and 150 kilometers (according to the requirements of its operator), at heights of up to 16 kilometers and made up of a command and control post, a radar and four batteries with a total of eight launchers, its missile being 4.5 meters long by 2.25 meters in diameter and weighing 275 kilograms.

The IAI system can detect, identify and shoot down aircraft, UAVs and missiles, with short and highly effective response times, thanks to speeds up to mach 2.

This system has the characteristic that its main radar passes the target data through a data link, and when it approaches the target the missile is directed autonomously thanks precisely to its own radar. The Barak uses AESA radar panels (MF-STAR version), with a rotating base that allows 360 degree coverage.

It should also be remembered that both the Barak MX and the Barak-8 have been offered by IAI to the Colombian Navy (ARC) for the Surface Strategic Platforms (PES) project, as an integral means to cover all ranges of possible threats that seek to violate airspace.

With information from Infodefensa