Three projects to integrate armed forces’ surveillance
The Ministry of Defence is working on three separate projects to integrate inputs from dedicated surveillance radars and sensors to provide specific real-time inputs for offensive and defensive operations by the Indian Air Force (IAF), Army and the Navy.
In case of the IAF, all the national air surveillance radars would be integrated to achieve a ‘composite picture’ of the air space, said the MoD in a statement on Thursday. This will be done at the Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS), operated by the IAF.
The IACCS is a platform for collation of inputs and is designed as an automated command and control system for air operations and disseminates real time information to pilots in the air and commanders on ground. A secure optic fibre of the Air Force Network (AFNet) connects multiple country-wide nodes of the IACCS.
In case of the Indian Army, the integration of sensors and radars for air defence is planned through project ‘Akashteer’, said the Ministry of Defence. Air-defence weapons include missiles of short and medium range and sophisticated missiles that can hit multiple targets. These can bring down enemy’s fired missiles, jets as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)/drones.
Project Akashteer aims to automate air defence command and firing processes. Developed by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), it will improve operational efficiency and integrate the Army’s air defence mechanisms for situational awareness for the commander on ground.
Sources said the Akashteer will also provide feed to IACCS under pre-designated protocols to ensure a seamless master network.
For maritime security, all sensors based on Indian Naval warships will be connected under the project named ‘Trigun’. The first such integration is under progress. Also all naval sensors located on mainland and island territories are being integrated directly to enhance surveillance in island territories.
Last year, the IAF’s IACCS achieved integration of all operational radars – its own, Army’s and civilian — to bring about a system that entails automated firing response to shoot down incoming enemy missiles, jets and UAVs.
