Flying LTTE Tigers Help Spur India’s Aerostat Radar Buy from Israel
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“Sri Lanka: Fulcrums & Lions to Battle Tigers?” discussed the Tamil Tigers’ (LTTE) attacks on Sri Lankan military bases and oil facilities using an unusual weapon for guerrillas and terrorists: aircraft. The implications of those attacks are becoming regional in scope, which should probably be expected given that the LTTE was responsible for assassinating Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
In spite of an interview in which Air Chief Fali Homi Major called the situation an irritant to India rather than a threat, the Indian military’s reaction suggests that they are not taking the Tigers lightly. Part of their response includes a follow-on buy from Israel of very advanced surveillance radars mounted on tethered aerostat blimps…
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Daily India reports that the attacks in Sri Lanka have raised “serious concerns” among the Indian defence forces “since there are greater chances that the high-range RADARS used by military might fail to detect the intrusion.” This is very possible, given horizontal scan limits imposed by the horizon against low-flying aircraft.
The Times of India adds: ”...especially with central and peninsular India being quite devoid of medium-level and low-level radar coverage, as reported by TOI earlier.”
In response, The Indian Navy plans to press more UAVs into service around nearby coastal areas, and also plans to send 2 more ships into the region. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has reportedly mobilized small mobile Russian radars around strategic installations, including the nuclear plant at Kalpakkam.
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The Indian Air Force will reportedly be deploying Aerostat Radars (ARs) along the Tamil Nadu coast, and a follow-on order for 4 more systems have been placed with Israel now that the 2 Israeli EL/M-2083 Aerostat Radars purchased in 2004 and deployed to Kutch and Punjab have proven to be a success.
EL/M-2083 is an early warning and control phased array radar with a reported range of 500km when deployed at altitude; it is designed to detect hostile approaching aircraft from long ranges, especially when they approach at low altitudes. The EL/M-2083 has also been incorporated into the Israeli Air Force’s extended air defense aerostat system, which appears to perform functions similar to the USA’s currently-in-development JLENS system.
India is also scheduled to receive its first AWACS airspace control aircraft from Israel by February 2008; the planes will be Russian IL-76 aircraft fitted with Israel’s Phalcon system. This will add an important new component to its air defense system with far more mobility, but far less time in the air.
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The Times of India adds (links added by DID):
“In all, IAF has projected a requirement of 13 Aerostat radars, with each one capable of providing three-dimensional low-altitude coverage equal to 30-40 ground-based radars. Incidentally, Pakistan too is acquiring six Aerostat L-88 radar systems from the US in an estimated $155-million deal.
....Interestingly, the EL/M-2083 Aerostat radars are simpler versions of the EL/M-2080 Green Pine radars, which are an integral part of the Israeli Arrow-2 BMD (ballistic missile defence) systems. India has used the two Green Pine radars, imported from Israel in 2001-2002, to develop its own long-range tracking radar which was used in last year’s test of an indigenous “exo-atmospheric” BMD system” [reportedly based on the Prithvi missile]
DID would add that low-level threats like the LTTE may receive aerostat attention in the near term, but India’s ongoing buy of land-based radars suggests that the longer-range plan involves a defense system against cruise missiles like Pakistan’s new Babur, or missiles fired from hostile ships off of its coasts.
Additional Readings & Sources
- India Defence (May 13/07) – Air Force To Acquire EL/M-2083 Aerostat Radars from Israel
- Times of India (May 14/07) – India to acquire 4 more Aerostats to track air spies
- Daily India (May 14/07) – Threat from low-flying LTTE aircrafts has changed radar option for India
- The Hindu (May 11/07) – LTTE air power no threat to India: Air Chief
- DID (May 8/07) – Sri Lanka: Fulcrums & Lions to Battle Tigers?
- Israel Aircraft Industries (June 13/05) – New EL/M-2083 Phased Array Air Defense Radar To Be Fielded On Israel Air Force’s Extended Air Defense System
