New Delhi: In a major boost in the surveillance capabilities of Indian Air Force along the borders with China and Pakistan, Defence research and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is making six new "Made in India" planes. These would be built on passenger aircraft flying with Air India.
Government officials said in a statement that, "As per the plans the six new aircraft would be made in India by the DRDO and would be provided to the Air Force in the Rs 10,500 crore project which is expected to be cleared soon at the topmost level."
The six new aircraft would be known as the Airborne Early Warning and Control Block 2 planes that would be better equipped than their previous Network Traffic Analysis (NETRA) plane and provide 360-degree coverage deep inside and the enemy territory during missions.
To build its system of AEW&C system on the existing aircraft from the Air India fleet, the DRDO had made formalities to transfer the funds to Air India. It could also mean that India may not buy the six Airbus 330 transport aircraft that was supposed to be acquired.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had earlier planned to build six Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) on the Airbus 330 aircraft for which a facility was planned to be created in Bengaluru.
The six new aircraft were supposed to be sent to a European destination to the original equipment manufacturer for the modification of the planes for installation of the radar.
The project is planned in a way to promote 'Make in India' and 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' in the defence sector. The block I of the project was postponed beyond the scheduled timelines but with the prior experience under its belt, the Centre for Airborne Studies lab of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is planning to complete this in a shorter timeframe.