Embraer has unveiled the first of three EMB-156 aircrafts ordered by India’s DRDO (India’s Defense Research and Development Organization). The planes will be used as test subjects for the early warning and control (AEW&C) system.
The first aircraft is equipped with an arena structure required for the phased-array radar under the development by DRDO’s Bengalaru-based center for Air Borne Systems (CABS). The plane will be first tested in the Embraer base before being finally delivered to India in august.When the aircraft is delivered, the CABS will start integrating the AEW&C mission system which includes electronic support measures, electronically scanned array radar, datalinks, operator workstations and satellite communications.
The complete configuration will probably be tested in 2012. All of the three aircraft will be used for a range of tests which include some cold-weather trials in Alaska. According to officials, the AEW&C is going to go through some pretty tough milestones, but it is currently on schedule. The building blocks of the mission system are currently being tested under simulation in the laboratory.
The antenna is mounted above the fuselage of the Embraer’s existing AEW&C, but the Indian aircraft will incorporate a couple of other improvements. An in-flight refueling probe, new cooling system and a electrical generation system with a second auxiliary power unit.
If the aircraft are completed in time, they will probably become operational with the Indian Air Force under a two-pronged approach to unveil AEW&C’s capabilities.
The next step planned by India is to follow the three EMB-145s with the development of a new AEW&C system with the active array radar mounted in stationary rotodome, however, the platform for this system is not yet selected.
