Curious case of aerial early warning system

READING the commentaries on the noteworthy performance of the AEW&CS (Airborne Early Warning & Control System) during Op Sindoor, I recalled the ‘shopping list’ I had culled from Jane’s Weapons Compendium for then Army Chief Gen K Sundarji’s visit to the USSR on a reciprocal invitation from his Soviet counterpart in 1986.

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Noticing my puffed eyes, he said, “You need a break. I am taking you along.” This turned out to be my first and only exposure to VIP travel. My baggage was collected by the staff a day earlier and I was driven to the airport a mere 10 minutes before the scheduled departure. When the Army Chief and Mrs Sundarji arrived, we were ushered through an elevated, tunnelled passageway connected directly to the executive class of the Aeroflot airliner!

At the crack of dawn on touchdown at Moscow, a smart and affable two-star General Officer took us to a monolithic State Guest House, which had no room service. However, two hours later, witnessing the Guard of Honour in the Red Square, overlooked by the stunning colourful domes and unique architecture of St Basil’s Cathedral, was a lifetime experience. The serious confabulations inside the Soviet Defence Minister’s Office also showcased the legacy of the Czarist architectural opulence.

At an appropriate juncture, with due diplomatic finesse, Gen Sundarji expressed the urgency to acquire a few AEW&CS outright — failing which, would they consider providing at least two on lease on the lines of the nuclear-powered submarine graciously provided by the Soviets?

The minister said with feigned innocence that they had never heard of AEW&CS, leave alone possess them. At this stage, I slipped a copy of the American product from the Jane’s Compendium to Gen Sundarji; it turned a serious proposition into a hilarious game of bluff and banter. The minister said that in the spirit of the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation, would we let them retain a photocopy of the American AWACS? The Army Chief agreed, but on their firm assurance of guarded secrecy. And that India would have the first AEW&CS produced in Russia!

Our weeklong visit ended with an unscheduled farewell picnic breakfast at the State Lemon Farm, about 60 km from Tashkent. On one pretext or another, our host would open yet another bottle of vintage wine till at last we heard the drone of an aircraft that made low passes over us. The genial host turned to Gen Sundarji and said, “Sir, doesn’t this resemble the American AEW&CS… with a bit of forewarning, we would have gladly flown you in it all the way to New Delhi!”

Gen Sundarji smiled, reached out for a bottle of champagne on the table and proposed a toast to the Indo-Soviet Treaty.

But what we ultimately did acquire was a useful hybrid fabricated using American Falcon Radar of Israeli manufacture, mounted on one of the six Russian IL 76 with us. Yet jugaad is just that, but simply no substitute for Aatmanirbharta.