India expects to sign a deal for three Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) Phalcon airborne early-warning systems by the end of this year.
The Indian air force favours the Ilyushin Il-76 as the platform for the Phalcon. India operates a large fleet of Il-76 transports. IAI already has experience of integrating the Phalcon with the aircraft, as it was selected by China for its now cancelled Phalcon deal.
Sources in Israel say India's Phalcon will be more advanced than that being built for China when the deal was abandoned following pressure on Tel Aviv from the USA. Elta, the IAI subsidiary developing Phalcon, has almost completed the definition of the Indian system, which will have features not included in the Chinese deal. IAI will not release details, but it is understood that the radar, the Phalcon's main sensor, will be able to detect and identify targets at longer ranges. The performance boost follows the introduction of improved transmit/receive modules for the phased array radar. Elta has also developed improved module control.
Source: Flight International
