In a big boost to India's surveillance capability, the Air Force is likely to receive the first of the three Israeli Phalcon Airborne Warning and Control Systems in the second half of May this year, almost a year and a half behind schedule.
"Indian Air Force officials have been regularly checking the system. The final details are being worked out which will enable the delivery of the system by the second half of May," defence sources said.
"The remaining two deliveries are likely to come through by the middle of next year or by the third quarter of 2010 if everything works out on schedule," they said. The Phalcons will be mounted on Russia delivered Ilyushin-76 aircraft.
The technical difficulties involved in integrating the whole system is said to have contributed to the delay in its delivery. As per the deal inked in March 2004 at a whopping cost of $1.1 billion, all the three 'eye in the sky' airborne radar systems should have been delivered by the end of this month.
The system will provide the IAF with intelligence inputs, helping it to maintain air superiority, improve strike capabilities and conduct tactical surveillance deep into neighbouring countries without violating their airspace.
It is an all weather system capable of logging 60 targets simultaneously and has a range of 400 kms. The United States had earlier pressurised Israel to cancel a similar deal with China in 2000 but gave green light to the deal with India in May 2003.
Meanwhile, the IAF is said to have been in advanced talks with Israel over the procurement of three more Phalcons, which it plans to integrate with other air and ground assets through data link.
The Israeli defence ministry last year announced that New Delhi was its single largest importer of defence equipment, constituting about 50 per cent of Israel's defence exports and about 30 per cent of India's imports. The heads of all the three Indian defence forces have visited Israel during the past two and a half years to demonstrate the strong ties between the two countries.
