2nd ‘eye in the sky’ joins IAF

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, September 11

The Indian Air Force (IAF) formally inducted the second Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft into its inventory during a ceremony held at the Air Force Station, Bhisiana, on Wednesday.

Air Marshal R Nambiar, PVSM, AVSM, VM & Bar ADC, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command, was the chief guest on the occasion. He was handed over keys of the aircraft by Dr S Guruprasad, DS & DG (PC&SI) of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The AEW&C aircraft is a proverbial “eye in the sky” and derives its combat capability from a state-of-the-art integrated system comprising of multiple sensors, giving it an ability to pick up low level targets deep inside the enemy’s airspace.The first AEW&C aircraft was inducted into the IAF on February 14, 2017 during the Aero India-2017 held in Bangalore. Induction of the second indigenously built AEW&C aircraft is another significant step towards fulfilling the ‘Make in India’ vision and bolstering the operational capability of the IAF.

Capable of air-to-air refuelling

• The AEW&C system is an indigenously developed and produced airborne surveillance system by the Centre for Airborne Systems of the DRDO. The system is mounted on an Embraer-145 aircraft and has been designed specifically to suit the operational requirements of the IAF
• Aircraft mounted with the system has an ability to pick up low-level targets deep inside the enemy’s airspace. The aircraft is also capable of air-to-air refuelling which significantly enhances its on-station operational endurance