BANGALORE: India is developing two integrated ranges in Chitradurga and Tandur near Hyderabad for testing its radar-based Electronic Warfare
capabilities.
The Electronic Warfare testing ranges that will be part of the Aeronautical Test Range at Chitradurga and Tandur will be set up at a cost of Rs 250 crore and Rs 400 crore, respectively.
Speaking at the first Association of Old Crows India National Electronic Warfare Workshop 2010 on Wednesday, Dr Prahalada, chief controller (Research and Development) of DRDO, said: “Testing of Electronic Warfare systems is a big challenge. It has to be done in an isolated area as there will be radiation and high power jamming. Besides, there would extreme simulation while testing which is why were have chosen the two locations.”
The Chitradurga facility would be developed on a 4,000-acre plot for undertaking non-communication Electronic Warfare testing while the Tandur facility will come up on a 8,000-acre plot and will be for testing communication Electronic Warfare systems.
“We would be able to radiate, evaluate on multiple targets and also undertake smart way of jamming,” said Prahalada.
He said work on the runway at the test facility was already on in Chitradurga and that it would be operational by 2012 while the Tandur facility will be operational by 2013.
Explaining the importance of Electronic Warfare capabilities, he said “Electronic Warfare is the key to future wars. You might have all the weapons and missiles but somebody can jam them making them useless. For example, a missile could be disseminated even before it is fired.”
Apart from the development of the test facilities, India is also integrating its air fleet with the Electronic Warfare capabilities.
To start off, the MiG 27s are being upgraded with these systems and in the future, MiG 29, the Light Combat Aircraft, Sukhoi-30 Mki and Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEWCS) will also be upgraded.