New Delhi: In a major success, India has bagged a deal worth USD 40 million to supply four indigenously-built weapon locating radars to Armenia by beating Russian and Polish firms.
“The deal is for supplying four Swathi weapon locating radars developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and manufactured by the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to Armenia in Europe,” government sources told ANI.
The supply of the equipment to Armenia has already started and this is being considered as a big achievement for ‘Make in India’ programme in the defence sector, they said.
Sources said Armenians had conducted trials of systems offered by Russia and Poland that were also good but they decided to go for the reliable Indian system.
The contract is for four Swathi weapon locating radars which provide fast, automatic and accurate location of enemy weapons like mortars, shells and rockets in its 50-km range.
The radar can simultaneously handle multiple projectiles fired from different weapons at different locations. The Indian Army is also using the same radars for its operations along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir where they trace the source of attack by Pakistani positions. The system was given for trial to Army in 2018.
Officials said the export order will help India open a new market for the sale of its indigenous systems, which are cheaper than their European and other rivals.
The Defence Ministry is also now looking at other orders from South-East Asia, Latin America and Middle-East countries for boosting defence exports for which a target of Rs 35,000 crore has been set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (ANI)
