Airborne Early Warning Systems - A-50EI Phalcon, DRDO Netra AEW&C, DRDO AWACS

Speedster1 said:
Shishir Gupta reporting 87 MALE drones to be of a foriegn design. End of the road for Archer? Says Netra Mk2 airframes are to be A319s. I thought the IAF had bought 6 ex-Air India A321s for the role.


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87 MALE UAVs were going to be of foreign design assembled in India after Tapas was done for.

Archer's development will happen and the future procurement will see the chosen design for 87 units and Archer compete most likely.


As for AEWCS let's see. I still think the A319s are to be SCA and A321s for Netra Mk2.
 
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Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) is set to give a green signal to the construction of six airborne early warning and control aircraft on the Airbus 319 platform. India has fewer AEW&C aircraft than Pakistan, and the second-hand aircraft will be hardened by Airbus in France before installation of DRDO Netra IA radars, and mission control and communication systems. The project was hanging fire for quite some time over finance issues, but the people cited above said it was approved as national security needs outweigh any cost escalation. The total project cost is ₹19000 crore with an approved escalation of ₹7000 crore.
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www.aviacionline.com

India to convert six A319s into AEW & C aircraft for the Air Force

Aviacionline es el sitio de aviación en español más leído del mundo. Presenta noticias de aerolíneas, aviones, aeropuertos, y demás.
www.aviacionline.com www.aviacionline.com

The next generation of AEW aircraft being developed in India was extremely ambitious. It was intended to mount a large 4-stage AESA flat plane radar, for °360 coverage, in a dome on top of an Airbus A3xx.

An interesting particularity is that each phase of the radar was planned to have 2 different types of antennas, one emitting in L-band and the other in S-band, maximizing the chances of detection and tracking by combining the strengths of each type of emission.

 
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Optimist said:
www.aviacionline.com

India to convert six A319s into AEW & C aircraft for the Air Force

Aviacionline es el sitio de aviación en español más leído del mundo. Presenta noticias de aerolíneas, aviones, aeropuertos, y demás.
www.aviacionline.com www.aviacionline.com

The next generation of AEW aircraft being developed in India was extremely ambitious. It was intended to mount a large 4-stage AESA flat plane radar, for °360 coverage, in a dome on top of an Airbus A3xx.

An interesting particularity is that each phase of the radar was planned to have 2 different types of antennas, one emitting in L-band and the other in S-band, maximizing the chances of detection and tracking by combining the strengths of each type of emission.

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We should have attach a large nose mount Radar too, probably an xband or s band.
 
Ashwin said:
View attachment 45865

Netra Mk1A has gone back to CCS again? What a clown show when we are in an urgency.
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Seems airframe availability issue. If they go for other type of airframes you are gonna need a few hundred million dollars for modification and certification.

See these are the situations where Pakistan does better. SAAB 2000 had a shorter production run than the EMB145 airframe.

What did they do? They actively went out in the market for 2nd hand airframes and bought out as many as they could.

But our military is the golden boy now. Buying 2nd hand stuff will make them look bad or something I guess.
 
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Ankit Kumar said:
Seems airframe availability issue. If they go for other type of airframes you are gonna need a few hundred million dollars for modification and certification.

See these are the situations where Pakistan does better. SAAB 2000 had a shorter production run than the EMB145 airframe.

What did they do? They actively went out in the market for 2nd hand airframes and bought out as many as they could.

But our military is the golden boy now. Buying 2nd hand stuff will make them look bad or something I guess.
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Netra Mk2 has been approved right? DRDO already has the air frames I heard.
 
Ankit Kumar said:
Seems airframe availability issue. If they go for other type of airframes you are gonna need a few hundred million dollars for modification and certification.

See these are the situations where Pakistan does better. SAAB 2000 had a shorter production run than the EMB145 airframe.

What did they do? They actively went out in the market for 2nd hand airframes and bought out as many as they could.

But our military is the golden boy now. Buying 2nd hand stuff will make them look bad or something I guess.
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We were indeed in search forvsecond hand emb145 for MK1a, probably we didn't get.
 
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Ankit Kumar said:
Seems airframe availability issue. If they go for other type of airframes you are gonna need a few hundred million dollars for modification and certification.

See these are the situations where Pakistan does better. SAAB 2000 had a shorter production run than the EMB145 airframe.

What did they do? They actively went out in the market for 2nd hand airframes and bought out as many as they could.

But our military is the golden boy now. Buying 2nd hand stuff will make them look bad or something I guess.
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Air frames are definitely available. This is probably Embraer asking more money for modification.

Usual bureaucratic file pushing delays.
 
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Iirc the IAF has 3 VVIP configured ERJ 145s in service. Those could potentially be modified into Netra Mk1A

Apart from the latest B767s (designated Air India 1), we also have 3 older B737 BBJs that can used for short distance trips instead of the ERJs, imo.
 
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In service for 20 years, IAF's Embraer VIP jets set for complete facelift​


After being in service for about 20 years, the Indian Air Force’s Embraer-135 business jets that are used for transporting the nation’s top civilian and military leaders are set to undergo a complete facelift.

The works to be undertaken involve complete repainting of the aircraft as well as a total overhaul and refurbishment of the cockpit and the passenger cabin. This will include changing internal fittings and panels, polishing surfaces, and replacing all furnishings, upholstery, curtains, shades, and flooring.

According to sources, one aircraft will be refurbished at a time to ensure that three aircraft are available for operations, sources said. The entire project will be completed within a period of two years, with work on one aircraft expected to take about five months. The IAF has approached a Gurugram-based aviation firm to carry out the work.

The IAF has four Embraer jets that are deployed with the Air Headquarters Communications Squadron base at Palam in New Delhi. The squadron also operates two large Boeing 777 jetliners for use by the President, Vice-President and Prime Minister, three Boeing 737 Business Jets and six modified Mi-17 helicopters.

Manufactured by Brazil, the Embraers entered IAF in September 2005 and are extensively used by top leaders on official visits. These have a range of 7,500 km and a cabin capacity of 14 passengers.

The twin-engine Embraer jet replaced the aged HS-748 Avro twin turboprop engine that was of British origin. Bearing ‘K’ series registration numbers, these aircraft are christened Meghdoot, Vayudoot, Nabhdoot and Gagandoot.

The Air Wing of the Border Security Force (BSF) also has one Embraer-135 on its fleet strength for the Ministry of Home Affairs, which replaced its previous Avro aircraft.

In addition, three Netra Airborne Early Warning aircraft (AEW) used the Embraer-135 as the platform. These were extensively modified by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) with an externally mounted overhead radar system, electronic warfare and navigation equipment, and work consoles.

There are also reports that the IAF is acquiring six used Embraer-145 jets for conversion into AEW aircraft by the DRDO in collaboration with Embraer. These would be more advanced and capable variants of the existing Netra.

The Brazilian aerospace major, which manufactures several types of military and civilian aircraft, is looking at expanding its footprint in India. The company has nearly 50 aircraft of 11 different types currently operating in India.

It has established a subsidiary in India to expand its presence in defence, commercial aviation, and business aviation sectors. The company is also exploring opportunities for Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities in India.

Beyond maintenance, the company is also partnering with Mahindra Defence Systems to bid for the IAF’s Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) program with the C-390 Millennium, potentially involving 40–80 aircraft. This bid includes plans for local assembly, maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO), and technology transfer, indicating a long-term commitment to India’s aerospace ecosystem.
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How did we miss this news, its E-135 btw
 
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Hydra said:
I think 360 deg one, mk1a & mk2 have approval already i think. But with only 2.3 billion is it doable?
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I think mk2
Similar report in july
timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Netra MkII AWACS project: India to develop next-gen airborne warning systems to boost IAF’s long-range surveillance; Rs 20,000 crore project approved - Times of India

India Business News: The government has approved an approximately Rs 20,000 crore AWACS project, a major step toward boosting the Indian Air Force’s airborne surveillance .
timesofindia.indiatimes.com timesofindia.indiatimes.com
 
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Netra Mk2 to be delivered by 2033-34
 
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