India’s second AWACS to arrive at Jamnagar on Thursday

India will receive another Israeli-made Phalcon Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) on Thursday, giving it the second ‘eye in the sky’ for enhanced surveillance that would virtually cover the entire nation.

The second AWACS will arrive in Jamnagar in Gujarat from Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport and will be deployed in Agra, IAF officials said here today. The first AWACS had arrived here in last May. The Israeli-built system is mounted on a Russian-built IL-76 transport aircraft as a part of the tripartite agreement between India, Israel and Russia. AWACS helps IAF to monitor military build-up and aircraft movement nearly hundreds of kilometres inside Pakistan without violating their airspace. India’s most potent force multiplier, Phalcon AWACS, is also capable of tracking down incoming missiles. The all weather system capable of engaging 60 targets simultaneously and has a range of 400 km.

With the arrival of the second AWACS, officials said the IAF can keep an eye on both the eastern and western front at the same time.

“After the induction of the third system, we would be able to virtually cover the whole nation at one go,” they added.

The system, primarily used for detection of incoming hostile cruise missiles and aircraft from hundreds of kilometers away, can also direct air defence fighters during combat operations against enemy jets. It also helps detect troop build up across the borders.