By IANS,
New Delhi : One of the two Israeli Aerostat radars that India had bought in 2002 was “damaged” and “non-operational”, Defence Minister A.K. Antony told the Rajya Sabha Wednesday.
In a written reply to questions, Antony said the Indian Air Force (IAF), which operates the Aerostat radars, was taking steps to set right the system.
India, he said, had signed a contract for procurement of two Aerostats with the Israeli defence firm Rafael on March 15, 2002.
The contract was worth Rs.676 crore and the two Aerostat radar balloons, capable of detecting low-flying fighter aircraft up to 250 km away and efficient in signal intelligence gathering, were commissioned in the IAF on May 15, 2007 and May 15, 2008 respectively.
“While one Aerostat system is working well, the other system was damaged due to sudden strong gust of wind on May 27, 2009, and became non-operational,” Antony said.
Rafael had promised a 10-year life for the Aerostat.
“Steps have been initiated for recovery of the system,” Antony added.
The damaged radar’s recovery is an 18-month operation, as these systems are deployed at an altitude of 15,000 feet.
The defence minister also noted that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had (in September this year) commented on certain aspects of the IAF’s Aerostat radars and that requisite action was being taken on the report.
The CAG had, in its report, noted that one of the Aerostat balloons was “damaged substantially”, as there were inadequate personnel to monitor its deployment, resulting in an additional cost of Rs.302 crore for repairs.
Three IAF officers faced disciplinary action after a court of inquiry held them responsible for the failure to adequately supervise the radar’s maintenance operations, called ‘snubbing’ in IAF parlance.