Defence Ministry inks two contracts worth ₹3,102 crore with BEL

Deals include supply of Advanced Electronic Warfare suite for fighter aircraft

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed two contracts worth ₹3,102 crore with the Bengaluru and Hyderabad units of the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), in New Delhi.

The MoD and the BEL-Bengaluru concluded the contract for the supply of Advanced Electronic Warfare (EW) suite for fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force. The overall cost is estimated to be ₹1,993 crore, as per a statement from BEL on Wednesday.

According to the public sector undertaking, the supply of advanced EW systems would significantly enhance the battle-survivability of the fighter aircraft while undertaking operational missions against adversaries’ ground-based as well as airborne fire control and surveillance radars. The EW suite has been indigenously designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The MoD signed the contract with the BEL-Hyderabad for Instrumented Electronic Warfare Range (IEWR) for the Air Force. The contract was a significant step towards enhancing the capabilities of the IAF to prepare for future warfare. The overall cost of the contract would be ₹1,109 crore, it stated. The IEWR would be used to test and evaluate airborne EW equipment and validate their deployment in an operational scenario, the company said.