INDIA INDUCTS AWACS

The Indian Air Force on 28th May 2009, inducted its first "eye-in-the-sky" airborne warning and control systems (AWACS) which will detect incoming flying weapons and listen-in to aerial communications. Some interesting features of AWACS flying around the world are :-

-AWAC systems can detect aircraft from up to 400 km which is well out of range of most surface-to-air missiles.

-An AWACS plane flying at 30,000 ft (9,150 m) can cover an area of 312,000 square kms.

-The AWACS project is a tripartite contract between India, Israel and Russia and for this a $1.1 billion ( i.e approx Rs.5500 crore if $ is @ Rs.50/-) will be paid by India for three AWACS .
-The AWACS can also collect information about troop movements and missile launches even while "listening-in" to highly confidential communications between the enemy's front line units.

-India will be the first country in South Asia to own the advance AWACS.

- The Indian AWAC has been deployed on the IL-76 heavy transport aircraft.