Indian Air Force recently signed a contract with an Indian manufacturer for the procurement of Automatic Weather Stations at 82 IAF locations

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force recently signed a contract with an Indian manufacturer for the procurement of Automatic Weather Stations at 82 IAF locations, according to an official statement from the IAF.

This technological enhancement will provide a major boost to Aerospace Safety by making available real-time weather updates during flying operations and training, the IAF added.

Meanwhile, working on upgrading its fleet of its Russian-origin Su-30 MKI combat aircraft, the Indian Air Force is planning to equip them with an indigenous advanced radar named ‘Virupaaksha’.

The Indian Air Force is working on the upgrade programme of the Su-30MKI fleet under a package worth over Rs 65,000 crore where 84 planes would be upgraded indigenously with advanced made-in-India radars and weapon systems.

“The Virupaaksha is an advanced radar being developed indigenously. This would be a strong push for the indigenization process in the military sector,” defence officials told ANI.

Virupaaksha is one of the names of the God Mahadev, worshipped by Hindus living across the world.

The Indian Air Force has already decided to replace the Israeli radar on the LCA Tejas Mark 1A fighter jet with the indigenous Uttam Actors Electronically Scanned Array radar along with the Angad electronic warfare suite.

The Su-30 fighter jets are the mainstay of the Indian Air Force, with 260 of them already in service. The jets have been inducted in different batches and now form around 50 per cent of the fighter fleet.

The Su-30MKI fleet upgrade plan is also seen by the Indian Air Force as an opportunity for exports, as many countries in southeast Asia and Africa operate the plane and can use these solutions to provide advanced capabilities to their fleets.

India is one of the largest operators of the Su-30MKI fighters and has constantly equipped the planes with new capabilities.