The Defence Ministry on Thursday (23rd March 2023) signed two separate contracts with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) at a total cost of over Rs 3,700 crore.

* Reason : To enhance the operational capabilities of the Indian Air Force (IAF)

* First contract : Worth over Rs 2,800 crore, pertains to the supply of Medium Power Radars (MPR) ‘Arudhra’ for the IAF.

* Second contract : Worth over Rs 950 crore, relates to 129 DR-118 Radar Warning Receivers (RWR).

* Both projects are under Buy Indian- IDMM (Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured) category. These essentially embody the spirit of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and will help facilitate the realisation of the country’s journey to achieve self-reliance in defence manufacturing.

* MPR (Arudhra), radar has been indigenously designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and will be manufactured by BEL.

* Its successful trials have already been conducted by the Indian Air Force. It is a 4D multi-function phased array radar with electronic steering in both azimuth and elevation for surveillance, detection and tracking of aerial targets.

* The system will have target identification based on interrogations from co-located Identification Friend or Foe system.

* The project will act as a catalyst for the development of manufacturing capability in the industrial ecosystem.

* Besides this, the DR-118 Radar Warning Receiver will considerably enhance the Electronic Warfare (EW) capabilities of Su-30 MKI aircraft..

Source :  The Print