Target Acquired

Smruti Deshpande

When the Chinese presence at India’s eastern border began looking like a threat that could soon turn into a conflict, the Indian government, among other defence equipment, procured additional radars for the Army. The weapon locating radar Swathi helps in the detection of the location from where enemy weapons like mortars, shells and rockets are being fired up to a distance of 50 kilometres. The Army decided to buy 12 such Swathi radar systems. It is a mobile artillery-locating phased array radar developed within India. This counter-battery radar is designed to detect and track incoming artillery and rocket fire to determine the point of origin for counter-battery fire.

Weapon Locating Radar (Swathi) passes through Rajpath during the Republic Day Parade

Last year, the Indian Air Force (IAF) extended a contract to the Bengaluru-based Alpha Design Technologies to supply six Very High Frequency (VHF) radars in a more than Rs 200 crore deal. This procurement aimed at replacing the Soviet-era P-18 early radar mounted on Ural-4320 truck chassis. These radars of the IAF are in addition to the medium AESA-powered radar Arudhra (EL/M-2084), a medium power radar (MPR) developed by Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI). The EL/M-2080 IAI Greenpine radar was procured from Israel as a part of the Ballistic Missile Defence System. It is an AESA radar operating in the L Band with detection ranges of over 500km.

The Ashwini 4D medium Range Surveillance radar is AESA based S band rotating array radar. It is an LLTR indigenous rotating active phased array multifunction 4D radar capable of automatic detection and tracking of aerial targets ranging from fighter aircraft to slow-moving targets. The IAF decided to procure 18 of these radars as a follow-on order of the Rohini radars. The Air Defence Tactical Control Radar (ADTCR) is the Army version of the Indian Air Force’s Ashwini LLTR. The ADTCR is used for volumetric surveillance, detection, tracking and friend/foe identification of aerial targets of different types, and transmission of prioritised target data to multiple command posts/ weapon systems. The Rohini Radar is a 3D multi-function medium-range air surveillance radar mounted on a modified heavy Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) Tatra truck and supported by a mobile auxiliary power unit. The Rohini radar system has been developed by LRDE Lab of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and engineered as well as produced by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). Rohini can detect and track multiple targets flying simultaneously and determine their position. While the air force version is called Rohini, the naval variant of this radar is known as Revathi. These 3D Central Acquisition Radars (CAR) were originally developed as part of a programme between Indian DRDO and Poland’s PIT as a family of mobile S-Band 3D radars. The areas of cooperation were developing the Planar Array and general architecture.

The IAF also opera