The decision to go for six to eight A330s for IAF AWACS may also pave the way for selection of Airbus A330 MRTT for IAF’s air refuelling needs.

The Manohar Parrikar led Ministry of Defence (MoD) has given a big push to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) promoted indigenous AWACS (airborne warning and control systems) programme. In a major decision to promote the ‘Make in India’ initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Defence Acquisition Council headed by the Defence Minister has decided to provide six Airbus A330 aircraft for the indigenous development of the AWACS programme.

Initially the MoD has decided to order for two A330s at a cost of Rs. 5,113 crore and probably six more would be acquired later. Interestingly, the MoD has taken this significant import decision two weeks before the proposed visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to France and Germany in the second week of April. These countries are major partners in the production of A330 Airbus. The indigenous AWACS project is targeted to be completed by 2020. The decision to go for six to eight A330s for Indian Air Force (IAF) AWACS may also pave the way for selection of Airbus A330 MRTT for the IAF’s air refuelling needs.

Reliable defence sources said that decision makers will look into this possibility from the angle of single maintenance infrastructure of the Airbus fleet. It is obvious that the decision to acquire two A330s, to be followed by four or six more A330s with the possibility of acquiring six to eight MRTT which will Airbus kitty with around $6-8 billion.

The air platform for India’s ‘eye in the sky’ was chosen in a single vendor situation. The Russians (for A-50 EI based on Russia’s IL-76 MD military transport aircraft) and Boeing had also evinced keen interest in providing the flying platform for AWACS. But, only Airbus remained in the fray, leaving the MoD decision in the doldrums as the previous government had decided not to consider any deal on a single vendor basis, fearing allegations of corruption. But with the NDA Defence Minister at the helm of affairs, the government has taken a bold move to push the modernisation process of the Indian armed forces, which were lying dormant in the previous A.K. Antony led MoD. The need for more AWACS was being felt in the forces headquarters since the beginning of last decade, soon after Kargil conflict the recommendation was made to immediately acquire round the clock operational ’eye in the sky’. The previous NDA Government had initiated the move in the early years of last decade to acquire an air surveillance system and finalised a trilateral negotiation with Russia and Israel, a kind of deal never heard of in Indian security establishment. India acquired three IL-76 heavy transport aircraft from Russia and handed it over to Israel for implanting its most advanced Phalcon radar, a system even denied to China.

Afterwards in 2007, India entered into an agreement with Brazil for the supply of three Embraer ERJ-145 jets for the development of airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) which has a lesser surveillance range than AWACS. Considering multiple militarily active fronts on 14,000-km-long Indian borders from East to North, round the clock surveillance of the enemy areas are needed so that our forces are warned of the enemy designs well in time. Hence, the government decided to provide more AWACS type systems to the Indian forces, India’s indigenous AWACS programme of the 1990s based on Avro HS-748 aircraft suffered a huge crash in 1999 when during a flight test all the eight specialist crew died. Two prototypes were developed and flight tested for three years by the Defence Research and Development Establishment Aviation Laboratory Centre for Airborne Studies. The acquisition of surveillance system through imports was again initiated in the early parts of the last decade.

As the IAF awaits the acquisition of three Embraer based AEW&C this year, the government in January 2013 gave the go-ahead for the development of indigenous AWACS programme, with an initial sanction of Rs. 6,000 crore, the DRDO scientists began working on this futuristic next-generation ‘eye in the sky’, which will have the capability of longer distances and radius to view inside the enemy areas with the aid of radar and electronic warfare system. The indigenous AWACS programme was initiated during the regime of Dr V.K. Saraswat, who had revealed in January 2013 that “AWACS will be a heavier and high endurance system, which can give a coverage of 360 degrees as against 270 degrees of the AEW&C. Compared to AEW&C the AWACS can fly at a higher altitude and can penetrate into the enemy territory – not physically but through the radars and electronic warfare systems to longer distances, say around 400 km, and can remain in flying mode for more than eight to ten hours at a stretch, besides providing better visibility.”

According to Dr Saraswat, both AEW&C and the AWACS have a role. “All over the world, people have AEW&C and AWACS in a tandem mode because each one does its role and that’s what our country is also doing.” In fact, the AEW&C are known as mini-AWACS.

Before embarking on the indigenous AWACS programme, the Indian MoD in 2012 had approved the acquisition of two more AWACS from Israel, which was informed by the then Defence Minister Antony who said in Parliament, “Long-term integrated perspective plan seeks to have a mix of large AWACS aircraft and small AEW&C aircraft.” Antony had then confirmed, “DRDO is also working towards developing indigenous AEW&C system on the Embraer aircraft and it is expected to be completed within 84 months.”

However, this MoD decision to import two more AWACS from Israel could not be implemented and the new NDA Government seems to have shelved the import plan of two more AWACS and has given the go-ahead to the indigenously developed AWACS system on the imported Airbus A330 platform.