Indian Navy receives upgraded Il-38 Patrol plane
Dated 18/1/2006
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New Delhi: The first of three improved Il-38 maritime anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft has been delivered to the Indian Navy following upgrades in Russia, an Indian Ministry of Defence official said.
"The aircraft, equipped with a new state-of-the-art sensors and weapons package, arrived at the naval air station INS Hansa, Dabolim, on Jan. 15," the official said.
The upgrade includes mounting the Sea Dragon common patrol suite, developed by the Leninets company of St Petersburg, on the aircraft. It can track more than 30 targets at one time from a distance of up to 320 kilometers, an Indian Navy official said.
There is a plan to mount the BrahMos cruise missile on the Il-38 in the near future, the Navy official said.
The fully digital Sea Dragon suite is designed to detect and intercept surface vessels and submarines as well as detect mines and carry out surveillance. The suite also can detect airborne targets and can be linked to the Russian Glonass satellite navigation system, a diplomat of the Russian Embassy here said.
The cost to upgrade each plane is about $35 million.
All three of the Indian Navy's Il-38 maritime patrol planes will be upgraded under a contract signed in September 2002. Originally, five aircraft - purchased from the Soviet Union in 1977 - were included in the project, but two Il-38s were lost a month after the contract was signed.
India's Defence Research and Development Organisation has supplied the aircraft
