NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Defence on Thursday it gave initial approvals to rupees 28 billion worth of military procurement plans, including the major indigenous project to develop six Airborne Alert and Control System (AWACS) aircraft to boost surveillance capabilities throughout the borders of China and Pakistan.
Directed by Rajnath Singh Defending The Procurement Council also granted “acceptance of need (AoN)” for 11 next generation offshore patrol vessels (around Rs 9,000 crore), 38 400 km extended range BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles (Rs 1,800 crore ) and on-board unmanned aerial systems for the Navy, as well as around 40 new modular bridges for the Army.
“Most of the AoNs were in the category ‘Buy Indian IDDM (indigenously designed, developed and manufactured)’. Six of the seven proposals, ie 27 billion rupees out of 28 billion rupees, will be sourced from Indian industry to boost the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiatives, “said an official.
The clear conclusion was the Rs 10,990 crore DRDO project to build the six AWACS or AEW & C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) aircraft, which act as powerful “eyes in the sky” to look deep into enemy territory. India is behind Pakistan, leave China alone, in this critical arena.
The project envisages the assembly of indigenous AESA (electronically scanned active matrix) radars with 360 degree coverage on six A-320 aircraft, to be purchased from Air India’s existing fleet, as previously reported by TOI.
The new project, which will involve cost sharing between the IAF and DRDO, is actually a recast of a previous plan to mount AESA radars on two new A-330 wide-body aircraft, which was on fire for more than five years.
The fuselages of six smaller variants of the A-320 will be modified, with the help of the European multinational Airbus, to equip them with AESA radars. “This project will be much more profitable than the previous one to acquire two new A-330s. DRDO promised to deliver the six AWACS or AEW & C aircraft in four to seven years, “said a source.
The IAF currently has only three Israeli Phalcon AWACS, with a range of 400 km and 360-degree radar coverage, and two indigenous “Netra” AEW & C aircraft. The latter have indigenous 240-degree coverage radars, with a range of 250 km, installed on smaller Brazilian Embraer-145 aircraft.
The acute operational need for additional AWACS was felt during the Balakot attacks and the subsequent air skirmish with Pakistani fighters in February last year. It has been reinforced by the ongoing military confrontation with China in eastern Ladakh.
Pakistan has 8-10 Chinese Karakoram Eagle ZDK-03 AWACS and Swedish Saab-2000 AEW & C. China, in turn, has around 30, including the Kong Jing-2000 “Mainring”, KJ-200 “Moth” and KJ-500.
Although the IAF needs at least 10 AWACS, repeated attempts to acquire more have yet to bear fruit due to the high costs involved. The long-pending IAF case for two more Israeli Phalcons mounted on a Russian A-50 aircraft, worth more than $ 1.5 billion, for example, has yet to be cleared up by the Cabinet Security Committee.
AWACS can detect incoming fighters, cruise missiles, and drones long before ground-based radars, direct friendly fighters during air combat with enemy aircraft, and control the build-up of enemy troops and warships.
.
