New Delhi: In a big boost to the Indian Navy’s capability, it has acquired one of the most advanced long-range air defence and anti-missile radars, under an about US$ 145-million deal inked in 2020.
India’s Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) has manufactured and installed the first 3D Air Surveillance Radar (3D-ASR) – Lanza-N, the naval variant of Spanish firm Indra’s Lanza 3D radar—on board an Indian warship.
In a statement, TASL said that after the first commissioning, additional radar systems are being installed across the Indian Navy’s frigates, destroyers and aircraft carriers.
According to the contract, Indra was supposed to deliver three complete radars and the core system elements for 20 more, which will be locally assembled and integrated by TASL, over the next decade.
Indra has already delivered three from its side. Interestingly, the Lanza-N radars being supplied to the Indian Navy have been tailored to deliver optimum performance in the high humidity and extreme heat environment of the Indian Ocean Region.
The land version of the radar detects and tracks aircraft within a range of 9 to 474 kilometres and up to 100,000 feet in altitude. It completes a full rotation every 10 seconds, providing constant situational awareness.
“With this, Tata Advanced Systems becomes the first Indian company to demonstrate the capability to build and integrate next-generation naval surveillance radar systems. This achievement also marks a key milestone in India’s pursuit of defence self-reliance, with significant localisation in system integration and assembly,” the Tata statement said.
“The radar has been seamlessly integrated with all systems of this Indian Navy warship. Its acceptance and induction followed rigorous sea trials, during which various naval and aerial platforms were deployed to test performance across a range of radar cross-sections,” the statement added.
“To support ongoing production, a radar assembly, integration and testing facility has already been established at Tata Advanced Systems’ facility in Karnataka, which will accelerate deliveries,” it added.
Tata Advanced Systems, in technology collaboration with @IndraCompany , has become the first Indian company to successfully manufacture, deliver, and commission the first 3D Air Surveillance Radar (3D-ASR) – Lanza-N aboard an Indian Navy.
Indra is one of the main radar manufacturers in the world, with their products deployed not only by militaries, but also in the field of mobility and air traffic. The company’s factory in Madrid is the largest radar manufacturing facility in the whole of Europe.
It has also developed one of the most powerful radars intended for space surveillance, capable of detecting objects in orbit more than 2,000 kilometres from Earth and which is responsible for protecting launches, satellites and the international space station.
Indra is collaborating with Indian firm Centum Electronics, to present a joint proposal to the Indian space agency (ISRO) to manufacture a radar for observing and tracking objects in space with which to protect the country’s space assets.
