DefMin Dusa attends Hawk surface-to-air missile testing

Defence Minister Mircea Dusa on Tuesday watched a troop exercise conducted on the ground to test a battery of Hawk (Homing All the Way Killer) surface-to-air missiles by the 1st 'General Nicolae Dascalescu' Surface-to-Air Brigade at the firing range in Mihai Bravu, Giurgiu County.

Photo credit: (c) DAN PAIC / AGERPRES PHOTO

The exercise was designed to train war teams in engaging air targets that use maneuvering against surface-to-air missiles at low and medium altitudes, the Defence Ministry reports.

Taking part in the exercise were nearly 200 troops using Hawk PIP III R surface-to-air missiles as well as C-27 J Spartan, IAR-330 Puma and MiG-21 LanceR aircraft that simulated attacks against the facility under air defence and the battle formation.

According to the release, the main aim of the drill was testing the operation of the command and control system for steering surface-to-air missiles in battle under as close to real as possible circumstances.

The medium-range Hawk PIP III R surface-to-air systems provide ground air defence of important facilities against piloted and pilotless aircraft, cruise missiles and other aircraft that fly at low or medium altitude.

The first Hawk PIP III R missile batteries were used for the first time in real combat exercises in Romania at the Capul Midia shooting range in 2012-2013, while currently they are part of a programme to increase military capabilities against NATO standards. AGERPRES