Kavach is a naval decoy system to distract radar-guided missiles from their targets and act as a systems for self-defence.
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Development
The Indian Navy used to import Anti-submarine Warfare Rockets ("ASW") from the former USSR. The Ordnance Factory Board and the Indian Navy took up the challenge to indigenize these ASW rockets and achieve self-reliance in this field. Kavach was developed to achieve this objective.
It was formally handed over to the navy on May 25, 2012 by Ammunition Factory Khadki (AFK), located at Khadki near Pune . It was received by Rear Admiral Brijesh Jhang, Director General of Naval Armament Inspectorate, New Delhi, on behalf of Indian Navy.
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 so that the incoming guided missile confuses the chaff as the actual target and gets locked onto the chaff instead of the actual target.
The Kavach system has chaff rockets of three different versions based on the range:
These versions are fired in different situations based on incoming threats.
Production
AFK is expected to deliver around 4,000 Kavach variants over the next three years.
Uses
The first ship to be equipped with Kavach was INS Kamorta.