The Indian Navy has quietly but decisively enhanced the defensive and offensive capabilities of its frontline destroyers by integrating the MF-STAR AESA radar with the AK-630M CIWS and enabling Collaborative Engagement Capability (CEC).

This upgrade vastly improves protection against sea-skimming missiles while allowing warships to share sensor and weapon data across the fleet, creating a networked combat environment.

The Kolkata and Visakhapatnam class destroyers now employ the EL/M-2248 MF-STAR radar, a solid-state S-band AESA system developed by Israel’s IAI Elta. This radar replaces the legacy MR-123 fire control radar for the AK-630M close-in weapon system.

By doing so, the CIWS benefits from the MF-STAR’s advanced tracking and guidance features, ensuring faster target acquisition and more accurate engagement of incoming threats. The radar can detect sea-skimming missiles at ranges beyond 25 kilometres and high-altitude aircraft at over 250 kilometres, providing a crucial early warning window.

The MF-STAR radar is capable of tracking hundreds of targets simultaneously, offering 360-degree coverage and robust resistance to electronic jamming. Its ability to provide mid-course updates and guidance illumination for missiles makes it a central node in the ship’s combat management system. This integration transforms the AK-630M from a last-ditch defence weapon into a more responsive and precise system, strengthening survivability against saturation attacks.

The Visakhapatnam class, building upon the Kolkata design, incorporates stealth shaping, improved automation, and advanced electronic warfare suites. Each vessel carries Barak-8 long-range surface-to-air missiles, BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, and a range of anti-submarine and anti-surface weapons. With MF-STAR acting as the primary sensor, these destroyers can seamlessly coordinate their layered defence systems, from CIWS to long-range interceptors.

The introduction of Collaborative Engagement Capability marks a strategic leap. CEC allows Indian warships to share sensor data and targeting information in real time. This means a missile launched from one ship can be guided using radar tracks from another, extending engagement envelopes and ensuring no platform operates in isolation.

For example, a BrahMos missile could be fired from one destroyer based on targeting data from another vessel or even an airborne platform, greatly enhancing flexibility and lethality.

CEC also strengthens fleet-wide situational awareness. By networking sensors across multiple ships, the Indian Navy creates a distributed radar grid, reducing blind spots and enabling coordinated responses to complex threats.

This is particularly vital against low-flying cruise missiles or stealth aircraft, where detection and interception windows are narrow.

These upgrades align with India’s broader naval modernisation strategy, which emphasises indigenous systems, electronic warfare resilience, and multi-domain integration. The synergy of MF-STAR with CIWS and the adoption of CEC ensures that the Kolkata and Visakhapatnam class destroyers remain formidable assets in contested maritime environments. They are now better equipped to defend against saturation missile attacks, conduct cooperative engagements, and project power across the Indian Ocean.

The quiet nature of this upgrade belies its significance. By eliminating older radar systems and embracing networked warfare, the Indian Navy has taken a decisive step towards future-ready combat operations. The destroyers now embody a fusion of advanced sensors, precision weapons, and collaborative tactics, setting a new benchmark for regional naval power.

Agencies