Update: IAF to procure radars, radar warning receivers from BEL

A model of the Medium Power Radar (MPR) Arudhra displayed by BEL at Aero India 2023 held in Bangalore in February. BEL will manufacture and supply an undisclosed number of MPRs to the IAF under a contract worth INR28 billion. (Janes/Prathamesh Karle)

The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed two separate contracts with public sector undertaking (PSU) Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to procure multiple units of a radar and a radar warning receiver for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

BEL will manufacture and supply an undisclosed number of the Medium Power Radars (MPRs) Arudhra and 129 units of the DR-118 Radar Warning Receivers (RWRs) – both developed by the state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) – to “enhance the operational capabilities” of the IAF, the MoD said in a media release on 23 March.

The MPR Arudhra, which will be delivered to the IAF under a INR28 billion (USD340 million) contract, is a ground-based active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for air surveillance.

Janes data indicates that the MPR Arudhra employs digital beamforming (DBF) to achieve 4D coverage (range, azimuth, elevation, and velocity) for air defence. The radar can detect and track fighter aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

According to the DRDO, MPR Arudhra has an instrumented range of 400 km. The radar can detect 2 m ² radar cross-section (RCS) targets up to a range of 300 km with an altitude coverage from 100 m to 30 km.