Colombia buys Israeli-made Barak MX air defense system

SANTIAGO, Chile — Colombia has awarded a $131.2 million contract to Israel Aerospace Industries for the truck-transportable Barak MX air defense system, the government announced last week.

The acquisition and deployment of an advanced air defense system is part of the Colombian military’s modernization efforts. The Colombian Air Force choose the system as its preferred solution in 2018, and the Army made the same determination in May 2022.

The system is expected to help defend military bases and personnel and well as and critical infrastructure.

The country is buying two Barak MX systems as well as missiles, military sources told Defense News on the condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

With a battle-management center built around an Elta Systems-made ELM-2084 active electronically scanned array radar, along with data fed from sensors, the Barak MX provides multilayered defense against aircraft and missiles. Its advanced fire control system can simultaneously detect, track and engage several targets.

The Barak MX is currently available with eight-cell vertical launchers and a combination of up to three types of missiles, including Barak MRAD with a range of up to 35 kilometers (22 miles); Barak LRAD with a range of up to 70 kilometers; and Barak ER fitted with an additional booster for a range of up to 150 kilometers.

The military sources told Defense News that Colombia is ordering the system with the MRAD and LRAD missiles, with the option to procure Barak ER missiles later. The former two can target threats at an altitude of up to 20 kilometers, while the latter can reach 30 kilometers.

Independent analyst Emilio Meneses said the purchase “is an impressive upgrade of air defense capabilities by Colombia.”

“Until now only Chile and Venezuela deployed such kind of systems, with the NASAMS from Kongsberg and Raytheon, and the S-300VM of Almaz-Antey, respectively. The Barak MX is a newer system that will raise standards in the South American region,” Meneses told Defense News.

IAI has also offered the naval variant of the Barak MX to Colombia to equip five frigates the country plans to build locally under its PES program.

José Higuera is a Latin America correspondent for Defense News.

智利圣地亚哥——哥伦比亚政府上周宣布，已将价值 1.312 亿美元的合同授予以色列航空航天工业公司，用于生产卡车运输的 Barak MX 防空系统。

哥伦比亚军队现代化进程中，采购和部署先进防空系统是重要举措之一。哥伦比亚空军于2018年选定该系统作为首选方案，陆军也于2022年5月做出同样的决定。

该系统有望帮助保护军事基地和人员以及关键基础设施。

军方消息人士匿名告诉《防务新闻》，该国正在购买两套巴拉克MX防空系统以及导弹，因为他们没有被授权接受媒体采访。

巴拉克MX导弹防御系统以埃尔塔系统公司制造的ELM-2084有源相控阵雷达为核心，构建了作战管理中心，并结合传感器提供的数据，可提供多层防御，有效对抗飞机和导弹。其先进的火控系统能够同时探测、跟踪和攻击多个目标。

巴拉克 MX 目前配备八单元垂直发射器，并可组合使用多达三种类型的导弹，包括射程达 35 公里（22 英里）的巴拉克 MRAD；射程达 70 公里的巴拉克 LRAD；以及配备额外助推器的巴拉克 ER，射程达 150 公里。

军方消息人士告诉《防务新闻》，哥伦比亚订购的这套系统将配备MRAD和LRAD导弹，并可选择稍后采购Barak ER导弹。前两种导弹的射程可达20公里，而LRAD导弹的射程可达30公里。

独立分析师埃米利奥·梅内塞斯表示，此次采购“是哥伦比亚防空能力的一次令人印象深刻的升级”。

“此前只有智利和委内瑞拉部署了这类系统，分别是康斯伯格和雷神公司的NASAMS系统以及金刚石-安泰公司的S-300VM系统。巴拉克MX是一款更新的系统，将提升南美地区的防空标准，”梅内塞斯告诉《防务新闻》。

以色列航空工业公司还向哥伦比亚提供了巴拉克MX舰载型，用于装备该国计划根据其PES计划在本地建造的五艘护卫舰。

何塞·伊格拉是《防务新闻》拉丁美洲记者。