Agra/Bengaluru: Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) March 4 handed over the 49th Weapon Locating Radar (WLR-Plains) – SWATHI to the Indian Army, developed indigenously by BEL and DRDO lab LRDE, well ahead of the delivery schedule.
Brigadier RR Yadav, Commandant, Central Ordnance Depot (COD)-Agra, received the symbolic key of the last unit of WLR (Plains) – from the latest order for 12 numbers of WLR awarded by the Indian Army to BEL in March 2023, from Hemalatha B J, GM (Military Radar)/BEL-Bangalore in the gracious presence of Maj Gen Vikram Taneja, VSM, Additional Director General, Ordnance Services (B), Rajnish Sharma, Director (Bangalore Complex). Senior officials from 509 Army Base Workshop including commandant, Army Base Workshop, Agra, senior DRDO scientists, and officers from Indian Army and BEL were present at the handing over ceremony organised at COD-Agra. BEL has since 2015 been receiving successive orders for both the versions of WLR — for plains and mountains.
WLR is proving to be a force multiplier for the Indian Army, assisting combat forces in not only detection and location of hostile artillery weapons with a high degree of accuracy in real time, but also effectively neutralising the threats with retaliatory fire.
WLR Swathi, a joint development project of radar house LRDE (DRDO) and BEL, has proven its might by providing rapid intelligence for retaliatory strikes.
It is a major milestone in the journey towards “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” corroborated by high indigenous content of more than 85%, sourced through the supply chain ecosystem within the country, by developing majority of sub systems and modules through MSME. The radar has surpassed all benchmarks, delivering phenomenal performance and successfully completing the vigorous Acceptance Tests prior to its delivery.
WLR is proving to be a game-changer for India’s military and has garnered international attention too for its unique capabilities.
BEL has also exported the Weapon Locating Radar to friendly countries, a testimony to India’s growing capability to design and manufacture advanced systems indigenously, meeting the international standards.
