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 DRDO's Electronics and Radar Development Establishment and to be manufactured by BEL under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category, the deal includes associated equipment and forward deployment infrastructure.
“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. “Along the northern borders, ridgelines and deep valleys create radar shadow zones exploitable by low-flying aircraft, drones and cruise missiles. These are mobile, forward-deployable sensors designed to detect small radar cross-section targets that slip beneath existing coverage,” a source said.
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.
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.
While these systems provide wide-area, long-range and low-altitude coverage, their effectiveness reduces in terrain with deep masking. The new mountain radars are intended to plug these gaps and integrate into the wider network.
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.