Hello, Warriors; if reports are true, India is currently drafting a contract for acquisition of two advanced Israeli Phalcon AWACS [Airborne Warning and Control System]. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by PM Narendra Modi, has cleared a proposal to purchase two Phalcon AWACS surveillance aircraft from Israel.
CCS’s approval comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official visit to Israel later in 2016. This visit will make him first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel and it will give major boost to Indo-Israel ties.
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Here is what you need to know about AWACS:
- AWACS is an acronym for Airborne Warning And Control System and is used as India’s defence against cruise missiles and hostile aircraft more efficiently.
- The AWACS is an aircraft having advanced radars mounted on it to give the ability to see deep inside enemy territory and 360 degree coverage to detect incoming aircraft and missiles at long ranges.
- The two Phalcon AWACS to be acquired will enable India to detect any aerial threat more effectively than ground-based radars.
- The Indian Air Force (IAF) already had three such AWACS platforms that comprise of Israeli-made radars mounted on Russian heavy transport planes IL-76.
- The primary tasks of the present IAF’s AWACS are to detect airborne objects, determine their coordinates and flight path data and transfer the information to command posts.
- It also acts as a control centre, guiding fighter-interceptors and tactical air force aircraft to combat areas in order to attack ground targets at low altitudes. The A-50 is fitted with an aerial refuelling system and electronic warfare equipment and can detect targets up to 400 kilometres away.
- The system can also receive transmissions from other air and ground stations and uses sensor fusion to provide a complete picture of the battle space out to several hundred kilometres.
- This defence deal to get two more AWACS will cost India 7,500 crore rupees as per a tripartite agreement signed with Israel and Russia.
- The tripartite deal had earlier been signed in 2004 in which Russia supplied three Il-76 A-50 heavy air-lifters, which were later used as platforms for AWACS. The job of Israel was to fit the Phalcon AWACS systems on these Russian platforms.
- In a comparatively short period since is first acquisition, AWACS have become the backbone of all IAF’s air operations and have proved their worth in various major exercises and operation.
- Due to a host of capabilities including Electronic and Signal Intelligence gathering, the AWACS will play a pivotal role in Network Centric Operations along with other crucial systems like Operational Data Link (ODL), Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) and the Air Force Net (AFNET) system of the IAF.
Meanwhile, India is also in line to develop indigenous mini-AWACS under which AEW&C (airborne early warning and control) systems developed by DRDO will be mounted on three Embraer-145 jets bought from Brazil.
