About Igla S Air defence systems

• The Igla-S is a hand-held defence system that can be operated by an individual or crew. 
• It is designed to bring down low-flying aircraft and can also identify and neutralise air targets such as cruise missiles and drones.
• The Igla-S system is being acquired to enhance the Indian Army’s Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) capabilities.
• India signed a contract with Russia in November 2023 for 120 launchers and 400 missiles. 
• While the first batch will be delivered from Russia, the rest of these systems will be made in India through Transfer of Technology (ToT) from Russia by an Indian company.

Why in News?

• The Army is all set to begin receiving a set of Russian Igla-S very short range air defence systems (VSHORAD) by the end of May or early next month, filling a critical void in its air defence requirements which has been repeatedly delayed.