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| Aerostat (Wiki Info - Image: Wikipedia) |
By Vivek Raghuvanshi
NEW DELHI — The Indian Air Force is entering the global market to buy six additional aerostat radars for more than $400 million, a decision that avoids awarding a repeat order to Rafael of Israel.
In the next one or two months, India will float tenders to Britain’s BAE Systems, U.S. companies Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, France’s Thales, Israel Aerospace Industries and Russia’s Rosoboronexport, sources said.
The Indian Ministry of Defence agreed with the Air Force that fresh bids from the global market were better than giving repeat orders to Rafael. Air Force officials were not satisfied with the maintenance of two aerostat radars Rafael supplied, sources said.
Specifically, one of the two aerostat radars supplied by Rafael in 2007 was damaged in inclement weather along the Pakistan border in 2009 and has yet to become operational.
Read the full story at DefenseNews