Bangalore: India will soon join the elite group of countries by flying its own airborne radar for surveillance to detect enemy fighters and cruise missiles, as also track troop build-up on the ground.
"We will start flying the indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&CS) soon after its integration with the Brazilian Embraer jet for trials and induction in our fleet by April 2014," Chief of Air Staff NAK Browne told reporters here Thursday.
The IAF plans to locate the first surveillance radar aircraft somewhere on the western border after its operationalisation.
To strengthen its surveillance system for operational requirements, the IAF has tied up with the state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in 2007 to induct indigenously built airborne radars atop three modified Embraer regional jets at a cost of Rs 2,157 crore ($399 million)....
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12:51 AM, Sep 21, 2012
