Israeli firm Elisra has bagged Rs 178 crore deal for developing the electronic warfare suite for the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk1A aircraft being built for the Indian Air Force.

The Israeli firm was selected by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL) after issuing a multi-vendor tender in which around six to seven companies had participated, a senior Defence Ministry official told ANI here on Wednesday.

The official said the selection through a comprehensive process has helped in bringing down the cost of the electronic warfare suite.

“Development cost of the electronic warfare suite for the order placed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited works out to Rs 177.43 crore which will include three prototypes and other support equipment,” he said.

The Israeli firm has also been involved in developing the D-29 EW suite for the upgraded MiG-29 aircraft fleet of the Indian Air Force in collaboration with the Indian public sector company Bharat Electronics Limited and the DRDO.

Defence Ministry official said the D-29 could not be used for the LCA Tejas as there was a need for major redesign for putting it on the indigenous plane.

HAL officials said they had initiated talks with the BEL for redesigning the D-29 for the LCA Tejas but it was not able to provide a proposal for the complete electronic warfare suite.

The Defence Ministry official said the DRDO and the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) also carried out a test to find out whether the D-29 could be used without modification on the LCA but the results found out that it was not “feasible”.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com