The Indian air force's third Ilyushin Il-76-based airborne early warning and control aircraft has undergone flight tests equipped with additional systems.
The aircraft was tested during long-duration flights over Israel and the Mediterranean from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport, and included "some very complex scenarios", according to one source. Indian air force personnel were aboard the platform for all the sorties.
India requested unspecified additional capabilities for its third Il-76 AEW&C aircraft after taking delivery of its first two examples from Israel Aerospace Industries' Elta Systems subsidiary.
The delivery of India's third Il-76 surveillance aircraft is scheduled for mid-2011, but IAI has refused to be more specific.
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© Indian air force |
The Indian air force has already received two Il-76-based AEW&C aircraft |
Elta has also prepared different proposals to meet the Indian air force's demand for more AEW&C platforms, including more Il-76s or smaller Gulfstream G550s.
Source: Flight International
