Ministry of Defence announced on Thursday that it has approved acquisition proposals worth Rs 28,000 crore, including the major indigenous project to develop six airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft to boost surveillance capabilities along the China and Pakistan borders.
The Rajnath Singh-led Defence Acquisitions Council also gave the “Acceptance of Necessity (AoN)” for 11 next-generation offshore patrol vessels (around Rs 9,000 crore), 38 extended 400-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles (Rs 1,800 crore) and ship-borne unmanned aerial systems for the Navy as well as around 40 new modular bridges for the Army.
“Majority of the AoNs were in the `Buy Indian-IDDM (indigenously designed, developed and manufactured)’ category. Six of the seven proposals, that is Rs 27,000 crore out of Rs 28,000 crore, will be sourced from Indian industry to give a boost to the `Make in India’ and `Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiatives,” said an official.
IAF currently has just three Israeli Phalcon AWACS, with a 400-km range and 360-degree radar coverage, and two indigenous “Netra” AEW&C aircraft. The latter have indigenous 240-degree coverage radars, with a 250-km range, fitted on smaller Brazilian Embraer-145 jets.
The acute operational need for additional AWACS was felt during the Balakot strikes and the subsequent aerial skirmish with Pakistani fighters in February last year. It has been further 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 Kong Jing-2000 “Mainring”, KJ-200 “Moth” and KJ-500 aircraft.
Though the IAF needs at least 10 AWACS, repeated attempts to acquire more have not yet fructified due to the high costs involved. The long-pending IAF case for two more Israeli Phalcons mounted on Russian A-50 aircraft, worth over $1.5 billion, for instance, is yet to be cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security
AWACS can detect incoming fighters, cruise missiles and drones much before ground-based radars, direct friendly fighters during air combat with enemy jets, and keep tabs on enemy troop build-ups and warships.
