Maiden test flight of second indigenous AEWACS aircraft

Achieving a major milestone, India has successfully carried out the maiden test flight of its second indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control System aircraft in Brazil, the DRDO said today.

Achieving a major milestone, India has successfully carried out the maiden test flight of its second indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control System aircraft in Brazil, the DRDO said today.

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The successful flight is seen as a major boost as the aircraft are scheduled to be delivered in June to the IAF.

"The necessary mission systems and components including the dummy Active Antenna Array Unit are successfully fitted onboard Embraer EMB 145I aircraft and the flight was held at 1930 hours on April 4, 2012 at the San Jose dos Campos in Brazil," DRDO spokesperson Ravi Gupta said in a release.

India is working on an indigenous programme to develop 'eyes in the sky' using the Brazil aircraft as the platform for the radar.

DRDO chief V K Saraswat complimented the team working on the project and admired its efforts.

"Apart from the external mission systems developed indigenously and fitted on this aircraft, rest of the internal systems will be integrated into the aircraft on arrival to India.

He said the other mission systems will then be integrated on to the aircraft and Mission System flight trials are likely to commence from November.

India has already inducted three AWACS systems from Israel and is planning to place orders for two more.

The Bangalore-based Central Airborne Systems is working on the programme which was abandoned once earlier after a crash in which some of the technicians and air force personnel had died.