BANGALORE: Despite the frustrations engendered by a cash crunch, defence scientists are striving to realize their dream of making India the third country in the world to produce its own advanced airborne early warning system.
If and when the scientists deliver the system, the Indian ASWAC (Airborne Systems for Warning and Control) would be the third of its kind, after the American AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control Systems), E-2C Hawkeye, E-3 Sentry and the Soviet II-76 Mainstay.
The Indian version of the advanced early warning aircraft is likely to have an Airbus or Boeing platform, though it is undergoing flight-testing with the radar dome (radome) mounted on HS-748s, the ageing war-horses from the stables of the Hindustan Acronautics Limited (HAL).
The Avro, one of the mainstays of the transport wing of the Indian Air Force (IAF), however, will be the ultimate platform for the ASWAC.
Currently, CAS scientists are busy working on software for the airborne systems.
The ASWAC project, initiated in 1986 on the heels of Pakistan’s attempts to acquire E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft from the US, is also likely to serve as Airborne Control Systems.
An AWACS aircraft is essentially a long-flying aircraft carrying a standard disc-type radar dome (random) on its back, which contains IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) and surveillance radar antennae, Inside the aircraft sit technicians operating a bank of equipment for data analysis.
The ASWAC, when it is finally integrated into the air defence, will carry the most complex technology in the IAF fleet.
An Indian Early warning system, if and when it acquires a fleet, would have a dual role; to supplement air defenses by providing surveillance command and control facilities for detection, identification, tracking and interception of airborne attacks. Second, it would provide quick reaction surveillance, command and control communications necessary to manage effectively offensive and defensive tactical aircraft. Besides, it has to detect, identify and track low-flying aircraft over all kinds of terrain while controlling IAF aircraft in the same area. After 1986, the IAF has been looking for an AWACS aircraft, considered to be a force multiplier.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 2, 1992
