Flying Tigers jolt India into going for Israeli radar

Courtesy The Island 19-05-2007
* Loses faith in its own radar system it defended when SLAF base was attacked
* ‘LTTE air capability not a threat but irritant’
* Air Force not taking threat lightly

In the face of LTTE’s air threat, India is all set to acquire EL/M-2083 Aerostat radars from Israel to detect and track hostile low-flying aircraft, helicopters, spy drones and missiles, agency reports said yesterday.

When the LTTE launched an aerial attack on the Katunayake SLAF air base on March 26, the radar system there was one obtained from India. When the efficiency of the Indian radar system was queried, India the following day was quick to respond and defend their radar system in place at Katunayake, saying it was highly efficient and nothing whatsoever was wrong with it.

The Defence Industry Daily, a US-based agency providing military purchasing news for defence procurement managers and contractors said that the LTTE’s mini-air force has spurred the Indian defence authorities to approach Israelites for the new radar system.

The DID report also said: "The EL/M-2083 is an aerostat-mounted air search radar. Another system of this kind is the Tethered Aerostat Radar System. It is an early warning and control phased array radar designed to detect hostile approaching aircraft from long ranges, especially when they approach at low altitudes.

Data gathered by the radar is transmitted to a central air defense command & control center where it is used to maintain an extended comprehensive air situation picture.

Once a potential threat has been detected the onboard system alerts responders in a timely manner. It is based on the EL/M-2080.

India will also receive the first of the PHALCON AWACS from Israel by February 2008. Both AWACS and Aerostat radars (phased-array radars mounted on blimp-like balloons tethered to ground) act as "eyes in the skies" since they can detect air intrusions much earlier than ground-based radars.

IAF, on its part, also plans to acquire a wide array of LLTRs (low-level transportable radars), LLLWRs (low-level light weight radars), CARs (central acquisition radars) and SARs (synthetic aperture radars) over the next five years to improve its air defence capabilities. Most of these requirements are being sourced from Israel, which has emerged as India’s second-largest defence supplier with annual sales worth almost $1 billion.

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."

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.

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.

The Air Force will also 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.