"Clearances
are underway" to initially develop two AWACS aircraft, with four more to
follow at a later stage, under the new `AWACS-India' project to be executed by
DRDO and its Bangalore-based Centre for Air Borne Systems (CABS).
"Under
it, 360-degree AESA (active electronically scanned array) radars will be mounted
on large aircraft like IL-76, Boeing or Airbus," said a DRDO source.
Potent
force-multipliers like AWACS or AEW&C (airborne early warning and control)
systems have changed the entire nature of air warfare because they can detect
incoming aerial threats, ranging from fighters to cruise missiles, much before
ground-based radars.
They
also serve to direct air defence fighters during combat operations with enemy
jets and also help in tracking troop build-ups.
But
IAF has only three Phalcon AWACS mounted on IL-76 aircraft, under the $1.1
billion tripartite agreement among India ,
Israel and Russia
finalized in 2004, despite being confronted with two potentially hostile fronts.
The
case for two additional "follow-on" Phalcon AWACS, with a range of
over 400-km and 360-degree coverage like the first three, has run into some
rough weather due to sharp cost escalation.
Moreover,
DRDO's ongoing mini-AWACS project, under which indigenous AEW&C systems are
to be mounted on three Embraer-145 jets obtained from Brazil for
$210-million, has also slipped after being approved in October, 2004, at a cost
of Rs 1,800 crore.
DRDO,
however, contends the project is now on track. "CABS will get the first
Embraer, modified with antenna units and other structures mounted on its
fuselage, in July," said an official.
"All
electronic systems, with a normal radar range of 250-km and 240-degree
coverage, will then be integrated. The first flight should take place in
early-2013. The project completion date is April 2014," said an official.
IAF
is awaiting the completion of the mini-AWACS project as well as the launch of
the larger 'AWACS-India' programme with crossed fingers.
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