As Press Trust of India reports:

“India today joined an elite club of nations when it inducted the first of the three AWACS systems that will help the air force detect incoming missiles and enemy aircraft that may take off from across the border… …the AWACS bought from Israel was formally handed over to the IAF’s newly-formed Agra-based 50 Squadron … at the Palam air base [in New Delhi] here… AWACS is described as “an eye in the sky” because of its capability to carry out surveillance at about 400-km range under all-weather situation and to lock on to 60 targets simultaneously.”

“India’s defence procurement,” according to BBC, “is expected to rise to about $100bn over the next ten years.” BBC also points out that “Only a few non-Nato countries have Awacs and critics say it is a bad omen for the arms race in South Asia” and that “the purchase, part of a 2004 deal involving India, Israel and Russia [India's two largest military suppliers], is part of India’s efforts to achieve air dominance over its rival, Pakistan.” Yet, the Americans are trying to persuade Pakistan that India is not a threat to Pakistan.

They may be too late. According to the Daily Times of 29 May 2009, talking to reporters after addressing a graduation ceremony at Risalpur Academy on 25 May 2009, Pakistan’s Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman has said that “acquisition of spying satellite and AWACS by India had created an “imbalance in the power” in the region, in response to which, Pakistan would get an Air Warning and Control System (AWACS) by October.”

According to RIA Novosti this is the first of three Russian-made A-50EI AWACS aircraft, developed on the basis of Ilyushin-76MD military transport plane, fitted with Israeli-made Phalcon radar systems. The second is expected to be delivered by early 2010; the third, by the end of next year. The A-50 is comparable to the US Air Force’s E-3 Sentry, and is fitted with an aerial refueling system and electronic warfare equipment; it can detect targets up to 400 km (250 miles) away.

Phalcon Radar fitted to Nose of Chilean Boeing 707

According to the Jerusalem Post of 24 May 2009 (and earlier on 9 May 2009), “The Phalcon (phased array L-band conformal radar) was designed and manufactured by Elta, a subsidiary of IAI. It includes radar, electronic intelligence systems and communication equipment. The company has already sold a similar system to Chile’s air force. The Phalcon will enhance India’s ability to detect aerial threats and serve as a platform for directing combat jets to targets. It is an all-weather system capable of tracking 60 targets simultaneously and can operate to a range of up to 400 km… Officials said that the Indian Defense Ministry was currently holding internal debates over the possibility of purchasing three additional aircraft. India has also expressed interest in the Eitam, an intelligence-gathering plane also developed by IAI.”

According to Ha’aretz, “India is negotiating the purchase of three additional AWACS surveillance planes from Israel Aerospace Industries, an Indian defense official said over the weekend. The estimated value of the deal is $1.35 billion… While awaiting the AWACS planes – Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems – the [Indian] air force has been relying on unmanned aerial vehicles manufactured by IAI, including the Searcher-I, Searcher-II and Heron models.”

Boeing P-81 LRMR

RIA Novosti also reported that: “India has recently purchased eight Boeing P-81 long-range maritime reconnaissance (LRMR) aircraft from the United States, and signed a deal with Brazil to jointly integrate domestically developed AWACS systems into three Brazilian-made Embraer-145 aircraft to be later commissioned with the Indian Air Force.”

According to RIA Novosti, “The existing Russian-Indian military-technical cooperation program until 2010 includes up to 200 projects worth about $18 billion. However, bilateral military-technical ties have been overshadowed by recent spats over problems with delivery delays, supplies of spare parts, poor sales support, steep maintenance costs and technology transfer issues. For instance, India dropped Russia from a $1-bln tender to supply six aerial tankers for the Indian Air Force due to poor after-sales maintenance services and is most likely to look for another manufacturer for future AWACS orders to satisfy its needs for early warning aircraft.”

This has been confirmed by a story in the Indian Express of 29 May 2009, in which it is reported that:

A. K. Antony with Indian Air Force Officers at the Induction Ceremony at Palam in New Delhi

“In an articulation of India’s annoyance over nagging delays in several key defence acquisitions, New Delhi finally seems to have decided to reduce its dependence on Russia for military hardware. Two key upcoming acquisitions that Moscow would have liked to believe it had in the bag — the next batch of three aircraft for additional Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) and six refueling aircraft for the Air Force — are all set to be given to non Russian companies.

The signal was clear on Thursday morning at the induction ceremony of India’s first AWACS when an unusually vocal A K Antony publicly asked the Russian ambassador to ensure that defence equipment is delivered in time.

He also took on the Israeli ambassador for delays in the Phalcon AWACS that were delivered a year-and-a-half behind schedule. Russia, followed by Israel is one of the two biggest suppliers of military equipment to India.”