AWACS delivery delayed till March end: IAF

New Delhi, Feb 13 (PTI) Indian Air Force (IAF) will now
have to wait till March end for Israeli airborne early warning
system, whose induction has already been delayed by 16 months.

"The Israeli PHALCON airborne early warning and control
system (AWACS), which will provide the IAF an eye in the skies
to perform surveillance and reconnaissance roles, will arrive
in India only by March end," a senior IAF officer told PTI
here Friday.

The AWACS mounted on Russian-made IL-76 heavy lift
transport aircraft was originally scheduled to be delivered by
the Israel Aerospace Industries by November 2007, but could
not meet the deadline.

AWACS, a major force multiplier for the Air Force, can
provide advance information even as an enemy fighter jet takes
off from enemy territory, giving enough time for the IAF to
scramble its own fighter jets to counter the enemy aircraft.

It is also an important link in the IAF's plans to go
network centric by establishing an advanced Integrated Air
Command and Control System (IACCS) through the Air Force Net
(AFNET) communication network.

"With IAF rapidly progressing with its network centricity
plans, AWACS will be an important element...the air link...in
the IACCS," the officer said.

The AWACS will link the IAF's ground and air-based
weapon platforms and communication system, which would be
vital for IAF's network-centric operations.

With IAF aiming to become a network-centric force by
2010-11, it has been trying to inter-link its land, air and
space assets and platforms to provide real-time information
for increasing its situational awareness during conflicts.

Under the AFNET project, the IAF has already linked about
70 per cent of its land-based assets and platforms to the
IACCS, the officer said.

India had in March 2004 signed an USD 1.1 billion deal
with Israel for three AWACS fitted on IL-76 platforms that
would help IAF detect incoming hostile cruise missiles and
unmanned aerial vehicles much before ground-based radars track
the rogue flying machines.

IAF's Agra air base has geared up to receive the first
AWACS and has got its infrastructure improved by extending the
runway, establishing an avionics lab, and integrating ground
systems for future operations. PTI NCB