Thursday, September 6, 2012

Exclusive! India to buy more AEWs? Integration of systems not cake walk


Neelam Mathews
Sept 6, 2012

India is looking to buy seven more AEWs from Embraer Defense and Security if the present project for the first three procured is completed on time and seamlessly integrated, a senior analyst at a defense lab told Aerospace Diary.

The first EMB 145 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) class of aircraft was delivered to the Government of India at Embraer’s headquarters in São José dos Campos, Brazil recently. The delivery followed successful completion of ground and flight tests of the aircraft which met operational targets established by both Embraer and Center for Airborne Systems (CABS) of Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO).


The aircraft will be delivered to the Indian Air Force after integration of missions systems of DRDO by CABS in India and inaugurated on Sept 19. It will be on show on Oct 8 at Hindon during the air force day. However, this could not be confirmed.

“This (integration) will not be cake walk,”  said the analyst as the EW suite, communication systems, radars and sensors  have to be integrated and India is still not fully adept at it. “The system is bristling with electrical systems,” said the official.

Aerospace Diary learns the second AEW will fly in October and come to India in December, while the third will be delivered by 2013.

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