New Delhi, March 12
As part of the government's efforts to strengthen indigenous defence capabilities, the Ministry of Defence on Wednesday signed a Rs 2,906 crore deal with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for the procurement of low-level transportable radar, LLTR (Ashwini).
LLTR (Ashwini) is an active electronically scanned phased array radar based on state-of-the-art solid state technology. The radar is capable of tracking aerial targets from high-speed fighter aircraft to slow moving targets such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and helicopters. Its acquisition will significantly enhance the operational preparedness of the Indian Air Force, according to an official statement.
The radar is indigenously designed and developed by Electronics & Radar Development Establishment, DRDO as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat goal. The contract was signed here in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.
The programme is a major step towards achieving self-reliance in defence manufacturing by reducing dependency on Foreign Origin Equipment Manufacturers besides acting as a catalyst for the development of defence industrial ecosystem in the country, the official statement said.
This is the second order placed with BEL after the company declared additional orders worth Rs 577 crore last week for airborne electronic warfare products, advanced composite communication system for submarines, doppler weather radar, train communication system, radar upgradation, spares and services.
The total accumulated orders received by BEL during the current financial year have now gone up to an impressive Rs 16,630 crore.
Prior to this, on February 20, BEL signed a contract valued at Rs 1,034 crore with the Ministry of Defence for supply of Software Defined Radios (SDRs) and Data Communication Terminals (DCTs) for the Indian Coast Guard
The state-of-the-art radios, indigenously developed jointly by DEAL (DRDO) and BEL, support multi-band, multi-channel, multi-role/mission operations to meet the needs of Network Centric Warfare. The DCT system enables communication between shore and ships with the accuracy, speed, security and reliability required for critical missions.
BEL has reported a 47.3 per cent growth in its net profit for the third quarter ended December 2024 to Rs 1,316.06 crore compared to Rs 893.30 crore in the same quarter of the previous year.
The Navratna defence public sector company's consolidated revenue from operations in the third quarter shot up by 38.6 per cent to Rs 5,770.69 crore, from Rs 4,162.16 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.
Profit before tax stood at Rs 1,754.15 crore in the third quarter of 2023-24, registering a growth of 49.64 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
- IANS