Low-Level Transportable Radar | 19 Mar 2025

Why in News?  

The Ministry of Defence signed a ₹ 2,906 crore contract with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), based in for the procurement of the transportable radar 'Ashwini' for the Indian Air Force. 

Key Points  

  • About:  
    • Low-Level Transportable Radar (LLTR) ‘Ashwini’ is an active electronically scanned phased array radar. 
    • It is used to monitor slow-moving targets such as high-speed fighter aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and helicopters . 
    • This radar is based on state of the art solid state technology. 
    • It has been indigenously designed and developed by Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). 
  •  Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL):  
    • It is a Navaratna Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) operating under the Ministry of Defence, Government of India . 
    • It was established in 1954 to meet the defence needs of the nation. 
    • The organization is engaged in various fields of defence electronics and professional electronics, providing modern technical support to the Indian Defence Forces. 
    • Production Units:  
      • BEL has several manufacturing units located in Bengaluru (Head Office), Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) , Panchkula (Haryana) , Kotdwar (Uttarakhand) , Hyderabad and Machilipatnam (Andhra Pradesh) , Navi Mumbai and Pune (Maharashtra) , and Chennai (Tamil Nadu). 

 Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)  

  • Introduction: 
    • DRDO is the research and development arm of the Ministry of Defence aimed at empowering India in cutting-edge defence technologies. 
    • Efforts towards self-reliance and successful indigenous development and production of strategic systems and platforms like Agni and Prithvi missile series , light combat aircraft Tejas , multi-barrel rocket launcher Pinaka , air defence system Akash , a wide range of radars and electronic warfare systems etc.  
  • Establishment: 
    • It was established in 1958 by the integration of the Technical Development Establishments (TDEs) and Directorate of Technical Development & Production (DTDP) of the Indian Army and the Defence Science Organisation (DSO) . 
    • DRDO is a network of more than 50 laboratories intensively engaged in development of defence technologies covering various disciplines such as aeronautics, armament, electronics, combat vehicles, engineering systems etc.