DRDO signs contract for six Airbus aircraft for 'eyes in the sky' project

NEW DELHI: The Air Force is developing highly advanced aerial surveillance systems to monitor enemy missiles and fighter jets from a long distance. Six Airbus A321 passenger aircraft will be converted into AWACS (Airborne Early Warning and Control) platforms. The contract was signed by DRDO. The cost is Rs 19,000 crore.

Powerful radars carry out aerial surveillance. It will identify multiple targets simultaneously. During a conflict, fighter jets can be coordinated from the air and provide real-time information. India currently has six AWACS.

The project is being implemented by AI Engineering Services under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Adani Group. DRDO purchased six Airbus buses from Air India. Adani Defence Systems and Technologies will install state-of-the-art radar, computer and surveillance systems in these.

India has three Israeli Falcons operating on Russian-made Ilyushin-76 aircraft and three indigenous Netra-MK1 systems operating on Brazilian-made Embraer-145I aircraft

Pakistan has 12 AWACS, including the Swedish-made Saab 2000 and the Chinese-made ZDK-03. China has a fleet of 45 aircraft, including the state-of-the-art KJ 500

During Operation Sindoor, the IAF realised the lack of aerial surveillance capabilities. At that time, fighter jets had to rely more on ground-based control systems. The aim is to overcome this limitation