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New
Delhi, 29 June 2006
In 21st
century warfare, Aerial Early Warning (AEW) has become an
inescapable tool for any modern war fighting force. The West calls
these changes in warfare technology revolution in military affairs (RMA),
but it was the Russians who called it Transformation. We would like
to call it Transformation In Warfare (TIW) –– a recurrent happening
since the arrival of the bow and arrow followed by the cavalry, the
use of elephants in India, then gunpowder, guns and cannon, which
the British used to defeat Indians including the French trained
forces of Tippu Sultan.
Then came
the missiles and today computing technology and electronics have
given rise to the concept of Command, Control, Communications,
Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR),
which is the new buzz word and AEW is an important component. Lord
Wellington who defeated Napoleon had said, “I always dream of how I
can see what is over the hill to deploy my forces,” and that is what
AEW is all about –– the ability to look far and over the hill.
There can
be no long range missile deployment (a la BrahMos) or aerial warfare
or interception of the incoming fighters over land or sea for the
Navy and Air Force without AEW. AEW is also a source to lick the
anti missile defence problem. The Indian Navy realised this and
ordered 8 KA-31 AEW helicopters, which arrived in 2003 and they have
a rotating foldable antenna for AEW.
Shashank Sinha enlightens us further with his study on the history
of AEW and its progress in India. Even the Pakistan Air Chief has
just ordered the ERIEYE radars worth $1 billion from Sweden and we
post the story below.
Dawn of AEW & C Operations in the
Indian Military
By Shashank Sinha
The Indian Navy
scored a first in 2003 when it inducted Kamov-31 helicopters in its
naval air arm, thereby heralding the introduction of airborne early
warning systems (AEW & CS) in Indian armed forces. With the IAF
preparing to take delivery of its own AEW & CS aircrafts by 2007 it
is imperative to take a look at the origins and operations of such
systems worldwide.
Origins of AEW &
CS
Origins of AEW & C systems can be directly traced to a
research programme of US Navy (USN) in June 1942. Initiated as
“Project Cadillac”, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was
entrusted with development of airborne radar capable of detecting
enemy aircraft and warships far beyond the horizons of existing ship
borne radars. The need for such a system was more accentuated during
the bitter fighting around
Okinawa islands in
the pacific theatre of World War II, where the USN was reeling under
kamikaze suicide attacks and wanted a much expanded threat warning
system for its fleet. Cadillac resulted in tests, beginning from
August 1944, of a modified Grumman TBM-3 Avenger torpedo bomber,
fitted with AN/APS-20 radar in a large ventral radome and
accommodation in the aft fuselage for a radar operator. Follow on
Cadillac conversion programmes were based on naval B-17 Flying
Fortress bombers and Super Constellations, the USN opting for the
WV-2 Super Connie and APS-20 combinations. The USAAF (later USAF)
ordered a version of Navy WV-2, designated as the RC-121 Warning
Star (later EC-121) in 1951. With the soviet manned bomber threat
looming large, they were used primarily to work with and extend the
coverage of NORAD (North American Air Defence). These were the very
first AEW system to be developed and deployed.
Rapid development of radar and electronics technology was
making possible substantial expansion of the situational awareness
envelope for the military commanders, but it was the immediate
tactical exigencies of a conflict which set the stage for the next
big step for AEW & C operation.
EC-121 ‘Warning Star’: AEW & C Over
Vietnam
A major problem faced by American war
planners in Vietnam was the lack of comprehensive land based radar
coverage. An incident in 1965 involving downing of two F-105s by
NVAF (North Vietnamese Air Force) MiGs in air combat glaringly
demonstrated that early detection and warning of enemy fighter
activity was essential for reducing aircraft losses. As the surface
based radar net was unable to do the job the USAF looked on to
application of AEW & CS for the first time in combat conditions.
EC-121s from 552 AEW & C Wing was brought in to fill the gap.
They operated from bases in Thailand
flying patrols over the Gulf of Tonkin looking out for NVAF air
activity and guiding American air operations. These operations saw
an increased usage of AEW platforms as a flying air traffic control,
which was later to become an essential part of all modern AEW &CS
missions. By 1967 they also started actively guiding air combat. On
24th October 1967 an EC-121 guided an F-4D phantom II fighter onto a
Vietnamese MiG-21 marking the first time an aircraft had been
successfully intercepted and destroyed through direction given by an
airborne controller. In many ways the warning star provided the
genesis of modern day AEW &Cs operations and reaffirmed its status
as an integral part of future air campaigns. These operations over
South East Asia gave birth to the tactics so successfully
demonstrated in the 1991 gulf conflict.
E-2 Hawkeye and
E-3 Sentry –– AEW Comes of Age
Boeing E-3 ‘Sentry’ popularly known as AWACS (Airborne
Warning and Control System) is regarded as the first fully “evolved”
system to come into service. And although it entered service almost
25 years ago, it is still considered as the finest AEW system flying
today. It certainly is the most popular. It made a dramatic debut
through operation ‘desert shield’ immediately after the Iraqi
invasion of
Kuwait. In the days that followed the E-3s flew some 845 sorties and
logged more than 5000 hours of on station time, directing around
120,000 coalition air sorties, impressive figures by any standard.
The fact that out of the 40 air to air kills during that war 38 were
controlled by the E-3 is an affirmation that AEW capability has
become the fulcrum for the conduct of air operation.
The ‘AWACS’ programme grew out of a USAF Air Defense Command
and the Tactical Air Command requirement in 1966 for an AEW system
which was considerably advanced in every aspect over the EC-121 then
in service. The Boeing 707 platform was chosen and E-3 AWACS reached
initial operating capability some 11 years later. The last of the 34
aircraft built were handed over to the USAF in 1984. The primary
radar housed in the roto-dome is the Northrop Grumman AN/APY-1/2
look down unit, scanning at 6 revolutions per minute. It has a view
of 360 degree scanning air and sea targets simultaneously, and a
range of more than 320 km when operating at operational altitude.
The aircraft is equipped with 14 command and control consoles for
data output enabling it to be used a full fledged battle management
centre. Upgrades are underway to improve the ability of the radar to
detect small and stealthy targets. GPS navigation, enhanced computer
memory, better ESM (Electronic Support Measures) and installation of
JTIDS (Joint Tactical Information Distribution System), should
suffice to keep the E-3 on the cutting edge for now.
The role of the AWACS itself has changed considerably and
evolved over the years since it was introduced in late 1970s and
early 1980s to support strategic air defence against Soviet bombers
controlling fighter assets like the F-4 and F-106 in closely
controlled intercepts in a rather narrow strategic environment.
Later, while the E-3s role remained attentive to Soviet Bomber
threat; it also began to greatly focus on control of tactical assets
in the tactical environment. By the beginning of the 1990s during
the Gulf war,
AWACS provided
control and battle management, theater wide on the operational
level. For this it relied more on interoperability with other
surveillance assets and ground centers. Also conducive to such a
role was arrival of advanced fighters such as the F-15 and F-16
which required lot less intercept control assistance and enjoyed a
greater degree of autonomous capability because of their onboard
advanced sensors. As a result the AWACS role has shifted to a much
broader one of “tactical advisor” operating on a much wider tactical
area.
The E-2 Hawkeye
entered service in 1973 as the standard ship borne AEW platform of
USN. Its latest Lockheed Martin AN/APS-145 radar handles more than
2,000 targets and controls 40 interceptions while capable of
detecting aircraft at ranges greater than 550km with one radar sweep
covering 6 million cubic miles. A comprehensive communications Suite
includes UHF and HF data link plus JTIDS to provide secure voice and
data communication. Various upgrades are underway to enhance
capabilities of this already impressive platform with fitment of new
solid state electronically steered UHF radar. The role of the E-2 is
also changing much as the AWACS, but providing early warning of
approaching threats to carrier battle group still remains the
primary mission. This has mostly to do with the inherent
vulnerability of naval assets from which the E-2 operates. Many
international operators operate the E-2 as land based AEW aircraft,
Taiwan and Israel being the two most prominent. At the hands of the
latter the E-2 performed remarkably well during the Bekka valley
confrontation of 1983 showing its versatility. It also proved that
sound tactics are of more importance to exploit the advances offered
by any system.
From Moss to
Mainstays –– The Russian Experience
Russian efforts in getting together an AEW system have
traditionally been guided by a very different set of needs. Being a
big continental power with a huge geographical land mass and
surrounded by NATO bases,
USSR
was always very concerned about homeland air defence. Their biggest
worry lay in Eurasian arctic regions where the radar net was not
comprehensive. These areas often stationed PVO regiments armed with
heavy long range interceptors capable of high endurance missions.
One way to tackle the problem was an AEW system which materialized
in the shape of TU-126 (NATO: ‘Moss’) radar picket aircraft in 1971.
It was based on the Tu-114 turboprop airliner and 12 airframes were
modified to carry roto-dome radar. Overall capabilities remained
modest, mainly due to poor radar but it remained in service till mid
1980s complementing ground radar network. It must be said however
that, from its very outset the Tu-126 was never intended to carry
out the same mission criteria as the AWACS. It was chiefly used as a
mobile airborne radar station operating within borders in support of
existing land based radar. A job it did reasonably well.
From mid 1980s a new AEW aircraft the A-50 began entering
service to replace the Tu-126. Based on the world beating Il-76
military freighter it carries a now too familiar roto-dome housing
the ‘Schmel-M’ radar. It is a vast improvement being able to detect
a small object bearing an effective target area of 3 meter square
out to ranges of 220 to 240 km, tracking 50 to 60 targets
simultaneously and guiding 10 to 12 aircraft through secure data
link. The A-50 is widely associated with new generation Russian
fighters like the MiG-29 and Su-27 which it normally controls. At
the same time however, actual operations remain limited to
supporting defensive fighter operations. As long as Russian defence
posture continues to be centered on homeland defence and sees no
need to play any role outside its borders this is unlikely to
change.
India and AEW
India initially
took the indigenous route to get an AEW system. DRDO’s Center for
Airborne Systems (CABS) started work in July 1985 under project
‘Guardian’ later renamed ‘Airawat’. Termed as an ASP or ‘Airborne
Surveillance Platform’ it involved fitting roto-dome based radar
into an HS-748 Avro medium transporter. It first flew on November 5,
1990. Development continued throughout the decade by the ERDE
(Electronics and radar Development Establishment) and it even made
an appearance at aero India Air show in 1996 and 1998. However, the
entire project came to an abrupt end on 11th January 1999
when the aircraft operating out of INS Rajali naval air station
crashed near Arkonam in Tamil Nadu.
In August 2001
India turned to
Israel after US gave an informal nod to go ahead with the supply of
Phalcon AEW system. The programme involves mating the IAI/ELTA
Phalcon AEW system with Russian supplied Il-76 airframe. Phalcon
induction is poised to take IAF electronic surveillance capabilities
to a new level. The system itself packages, Elta EL/2075 solid state
Phased-array radar with sophisticated ESM/ELINT, IFF and CSM/COMINT
system. Data gathered by all the sensors are continuously fused
together to form a comprehensive electronic picture that greatly
increase the scope of threat detection and classification. In line
with the latest trend the EL/2075 is electronically steered beam
radar, which has many advantages compared to a mechanically scanning
unit, chiefly less aerodynamic limitations on the airframe, better
performance against high maneuvering targets and a faster reaction
time (track initiation is achieved in 2 to 4 seconds as compared to
20 to 40 seconds with roto-dome radar). Apart from providing the
normal control duties, the Phalcon also doubles up as an ELINT and
COMINT aircraft in its own right, negating the need to operate
specialized aircrafts for each requirement. Thus the scope of AEW
platforms is expanding worldwide to include SIGINT operations to
monitor UHF, VHF and HF transmissions. This trend is expected to
continue as such platforms are being increasingly used to target
irregular terrorist outfits.
Indian Navy meanwhile has characteristically taken the lead
in actually operationalising an AEW system when it started inducting
the Ka-31 (NATO: Helix) helicopters in April 2003. Till now a total
fleet of 9 choppers have been inducted into the INAS 339 Falcons
squadron. Their deployment will spread across the aircraft carriers
Viraat and the upcoming Vikramaditya (ex Gorshkov), the three
Talwaar class frigates and the three Project 17 frigates now in the
process of being fitted out at MDL. As part of carrier air groups
they will work with MiG-29Ks to carry out fleet air defence missions
while missile armed frigates would also use them for over the
horizon targeting duties for their SSMs. The Ka-31 is expected to
form the crucial back bone of emerging network centric operational
doctrine of IN. To fulfill such a wide variety of roles it relies on
an electronic suite centered on the E-801M Oko (“Eye”) mechanically
scanned early warning radar. The 6m² radar antenna is stowed flat
against the underside of the fuselage until deployed, when it folds
out and rotates around 6rpm to achieve 360° azimuthal coverage. A
surveillance range of 150km against a fighter sized target and 100
to 200 km against a surface ship is claimed, with the ability to
track 40 targets simultaneously. IN seems to be satisfied with the
abilities of the chopper and has made plans to include it in air
group of the future ADS under construction at Cochin SY. While it’s
certainly not comparable with fixed wing AEW platforms like the E-2,
particularly lacking secure data link capability, its ideal for the
smaller carriers
India
plans to acquire and build.
In August 2005 the Ministry of Defence reported to the Rajya
Sabha about the revival of the indigenous AWACS programme. An amount
of Rs.1800cr. was sanctioned for the same to the DRDO in October
2004. The whole programme is to be managed and fabricated by the
CABS which expect initiation of testing by 2008 for service entry in
2010. The most likely platform could be the Brazilian Embraer
EMB-145 a derivative of the Embraer ERJ-145 regional/business jet.
EMB-145 AEW & CS aircraft is already in operation with the air
forces of
Brazil and Greece packing an Ericsson ERIEYE active, phased array
pulse-Doppler radar. ERIEYE has a fixed, dual-sided and
electronically scanned antenna mounted on top of the fuselage for
360° detection and tracking of air and sea targets over a typical
range of 350km. The Indian system could have the ERIEYE or its local
derivative.
Far more challenging would be the actual assimilation of AEW
capabilities in the overall air operations. Indian military planners
would have to work from the scratch, having almost no previous
exposure to AEW operations. IAF has had the opportunity to fly with
E-3 during Exercise Garuda II in June 2005 and Cope India 2005 in
November, and would no doubt capitalize on the experience to develop
its own AWACS tactics. Coming up with sound AWACS tactics is not
just a luxury and will prove vital for conduct of successful fighter
operations in future. This will hold truer as the proliferation of
advanced fighter and all aspect BVR AAMs in neighborhood continues.
With the advent of long range radar guided and all aspect IR AAM on
potentially hostile fighters such as F-16 and Su-30MKK, odds would
even with latest IAF fighters/AAM combinations. The potential impact
of such fighter/missile combination was first evaluated by USAF in a
series of tests known as AIMVAL/ACEVAL in late 70s. Small and cheap
F-5E and A-4 armed with modern missiles were pitted against F-14 and
F-15 and without the need to maneuver in the
six o’clock
position the small fighters scored an even no. of kills. It was an
indication of onset of new highly lethal fighter operations. The
only way to tackle such an adversary would be to use better
situational awareness to ‘splash’ it at long ranges with the latest
BVR AAMs like the R-77. Presence of an AEW in the loop would ensure
that threats are identified much further out and dealt with faster.
An IAF AEW platform flying more than 100 km inside Indian Territory
could still cover about 600kms of enemy airspace carrying out
surveillance of enemy aircraft and signal traffic. Future upgrades
would surely include capabilities similar to the UK’s Astor Sentinel
airborne stand off ground surveillance radar aircraft and the USAF
J-STARS. Thus the scope of AEW missions is set to expand into true
intelligence gathering platform working independently or in tandem
with other airborne assets such as UAV and feeding near real-time
data to air and ground commanders. This would require a whole new
approach towards offensive and defensive fighter operations.
Resources:
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http://www.airforce-technology.com/
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http://www.israeli-weapons.com/index.html
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http://www.kamov.ru/market/index1.htm
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http://perso.wanadoo.fr/aeromil-yf/
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Jane’s Fighter
Combat in the Jet Age, By David C. Isby, Harper Collins 1997
(Shashank Sinha may be contacted at shanksinha@rediffmail.com)
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