A MAKE IN INDIA SNUB

In a blow to indigenisation, HAL has opted for foreign technology, jettisoning DRDO's radar and Electronic Warfare equipment for the LCA MK1A jets

- PRADIP R. SAGAR

Operation Sindoor was an emphatic assertion of indigenous military prowess. Yet, a troubling contradiction emerged soon after. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which lies at the heart of India's defence innovation, now finds itself cornered, because Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has opted to instal imported radar and early warning systems in its latest jets, going back on its word to use the DRDO's indigenous Uttam AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar and the Swayam Raksha Kavach (SRK) Electronic Warfare (EW) suite. Sources say that HAL has issued a Letter of Intent to Israeli firm ELTA systems regarding the delivery of radars and EW suites. In a similar move in the Rafale Marine fighter jet deal, the Uttam radar was pulled out of the final configuration at the insistence of manufacturer Dassault Aviation despite being part of the original plan.

In 2021, when the Indian Air Force (IAF) ordered 83 LCA Mk1A multirole fighter jets from HAL in a Rs 48,000 crore deal, the latter had committed to integrating indigenous radar and EW systems for the last 43 aircraft, or from the 41st LCA Mk1A. However, in a volte face, HAL in March 2025 decided to put in radar and EW systems from ELTA, the supplier for the first 40 aircraft, for those final 43 aircraft as well. Though HAL was to start delivering LCA Mk1As from February 2024, not a single aircraft has materialised.

In a fighter jet, radars provide situational awareness by tracking targets and guiding missiles while an EW suite protects it from enemy radar by jamming them or deploying countermeasures. The AESA radar project, called the Uttam (or 'excellent') radar, was initiated in 2008 and sanctioned in 2012. DRDO completed the Transfer of Technology to HAL in July 2023, with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) as a subsystem supplier. The radar was cleared for export that year.