IAF | Indian AirForce Redeived AWACS
Yesterday, Jamnagar Airbase received a delivery of its first Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) plane from Israel amid growing military ties with the Zionist state.
The AWACS was escorted by fighter jets and landed Monday at an airbase in western India.
The delivery is the first of three units that Israel Aerospace Industries agreed to sell to India as part of a 2004 deal. "The remaining two are expected to be inducted into the Indian Air Force by 2010," Indian Air Force Spokesman, Wing Commander T.K. Singha said.
The plane is equipped with the sophisticated Phalcon early warning radar surveillance system worth more than USD 1b.
The delivery aims to maintain India's air dominance over arch rival Pakistan and will also provide a deterrent to any threat from China on India's eastern frontier.
Pakistan and India have fought three wars since they secured independence from Britain in 1947.
Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors have sunk to a new low after militants, allegedly belonging to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist group, attacked several areas across the Indian port city of Mumbai in November 2008.
New Delhi and Beijing also fought a brief but bloody war over a border dispute in 1962.
China maintains close ties with Pakistan while New Delhi has expressed concerns over Beijing's military cooperation with Islamabad.
This is while senior Pakistani civilian and military officials have frequently accused Israel of plotting a suspected attack on its nuclear instillations.
Israel is considered as India's second-largest arms supplier after Russia since 2007. Tel Aviv is likely to grab the number one slot through a vast array of military agreements it has already signed with New Delhi.
Yesterday, Jamnagar Airbase received a delivery of its first Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) plane from Israel amid growing military ties with the Zionist state.
The AWACS was escorted by fighter jets and landed Monday at an airbase in western India.
The delivery is the first of three units that Israel Aerospace Industries agreed to sell to India as part of a 2004 deal. "The remaining two are expected to be inducted into the Indian Air Force by 2010," Indian Air Force Spokesman, Wing Commander T.K. Singha said.
The plane is equipped with the sophisticated Phalcon early warning radar surveillance system worth more than USD 1b.
The delivery aims to maintain India's air dominance over arch rival Pakistan and will also provide a deterrent to any threat from China on India's eastern frontier.
Pakistan and India have fought three wars since they secured independence from Britain in 1947.
Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors have sunk to a new low after militants, allegedly belonging to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist group, attacked several areas across the Indian port city of Mumbai in November 2008.
New Delhi and Beijing also fought a brief but bloody war over a border dispute in 1962.
China maintains close ties with Pakistan while New Delhi has expressed concerns over Beijing's military cooperation with Islamabad.
This is while senior Pakistani civilian and military officials have frequently accused Israel of plotting a suspected attack on its nuclear instillations.
Israel is considered as India's second-largest arms supplier after Russia since 2007. Tel Aviv is likely to grab the number one slot through a vast array of military agreements it has already signed with New Delhi.