Military Procurement International Vol. 18, No. 9, May 1, 2008
Copyright DAPSS S.A., 200
8, Switzerland. It is unlawful to reproduce any of this publication without written permission from the publisher.
INDIA
Seeking
three more Phalcon AWACS aircraft
With the first of its three Phalcon Airborne Early
Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft due for delivery from Israel in
September 2008, followed by the second in April 2009 and the third in August
2010, the Indian Air Force has now
forwarded to the Defence Ministry a proposal to order three more.
The three
new AWACS aircraft are expected to cost US$2 billion, including the Ilyushin Il-76TD airframes and the Israeli Elta Systems Phalcon radar systems.
Under the
US$1.5 billion contract signed in November 2003 with Russia’s Rosoboronexport and Elta parent company Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), delivery of the first of the IAF’s AWACS aircraft was postponed
from December 2007, due to delays in customising the airframes at Uzbekistan’s
Tashkent Aircraft Production Organisation
(TAPO).
The lead
aircraft, powered by four Perm Engine Co.
4PS-90A-76 engines, is currently being fitted out in Israel with the Elta
Phalcon mission sensors, Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) systems, communications
systems and management suites, and will be ready for roll-out by the end of May
for flight certification, according to a senior IAI official. © DAPSS
S.A., 2008, Switzerland