IAF to commission medium-power radar in Gujarat

New Delhi: Indian air defence surveillance network will receive a big boost with the Indian Air Force commissioning an Israeli-made medium-power radar (MPR) at Naliya in Gujarat this week.

"This state-of-the-art radar, to be named Arudhra, is being inducted towards strengthening the air defence in the Saurashtra-Kutch region and constitutes an important component in IAF's plan to achieve network-centric operations," said an IAF officer.

IAF chief, air chief marshal PV Naik, will commission the radar, which has a range of over 300 km, at the Naliya airbase on Friday after the commanders' conference of the South-Western Air Command.

IAF has already inked contracts for 19 LLTRs (low-level transportable radars), four MPRs and 30 indigenous medium-range Rohini radars. It is also planning a big induction of long-range surveillance radars (LRSRs) and high-power radars (HPRs) to bolster air defence coverage in "hilly terrain" in the hinterland as well as along the borders with China and Pakistan.

India is also looking to procure nine additional aerostat radars to add to the two EL/M-2083 Israeli aerostats inducted earlier.

It is also looking to add two additional AWACS (airborne warning and control systems) to supplement the first three Israeli Phalcon AWACS bought under a $1.1-billion deal.