NEW DELHI: The Defence Ministry on Tuesday inked a Rs 1,950 crore deal with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for two indigenous mountain radars to plug critical air surveillance gaps along high-altitude frontiers.
Designed by Electronics and Radar Development Establishment under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and to be manufactured by BEL under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category. The deal covers fixed, medium-power systems with associated equipment and forward deployment infrastructure.
It is learnt, the radars will be deployed at Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir and Pfütsero in Nagaland, targeting vulnerable stretches along India’s northern and northeastern borders.
“The installation and commissioning of these radars will boost the country’s air defence and strengthen national security. The procurement will also reduce dependency on foreign equipment,” the government statement said.
Sources said the radars address a long-standing gap in India’s mountainous terrain. “In the high-altitude sector, ridgelines and deep valleys create radar shadow zones exploitable by low-flying fighters, drones and cruise missiles. These fixed, forward-deployed radars are meant to plug these gaps by detecting small radar cross-section targets that evade existing coverage.”
In air defence, radars are part of a wider sensor network alongside airborne early warning systems, aerostats and space-based inputs, feeding into command and control systems for real-time response. These radars will also fill the gap between low-level and long-range systems, offering sustained coverage in terrain-masked zones where existing radars face limitations, particularly against low-flying drones and cruise missiles.
The IAF operates a layered surveillance grid feeding into its Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) to generate a real-time air picture. Key systems in service include the Rohini 3D medium-range radar (150 km class), the Arudhra medium power AESA radar with a range of up to 400 km and the Ashwini low-level transportable radar for detecting low-flying targets, including UAVs.
Ongoing conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine have underlined the growing challenge posed by low-flying drones and precision-guided munitions that can evade conventional radar coverage.