Working in cooperation with AIRBUS
DEFENCE & SPACE, Indian company ALPHA DESIGN TECHNOLOGIES is confident
about future sales of the Missile Launch Detection System (MILDS) it is
offering. Also known by its AN/AAR-60 designation, MILDS is a passive UV based
system capable of tracking and warning of missile threats once a missile
exhaust plume has been detected. Typically using four to six detectors to
provide full spherical coverage, MILDS has a very low false alarm rate
according to information provided by ALPHA DESIGN TECHNOLOGIES . Speaking to
MT, company officials indicated that a total of 61 systems had been delivered
to upgrade HAL Cheetah helicopters of the Indian air force and army air corps.
A requirement for a similar upgrade on about 100 Mi-17s of the Indian military
is said to be imminent. It was also revealed that trials with MILDS on a Mi-17
helicopter had already been conducted at Bangalore's HAL Airport.
Alpha Design Technologies is a major
defence equipment manufacturer for the Indian military producing C-IED jammers,
IFF interrogators and transponders as well as components for EW and SIGINT
systems. Other products include optics for small arms, night optics, laser
aiming lights and laser target designators. Much of this is done under licence
agreements with foreign companies. For instance, it cooperates with ELBIT on
the Lizard laser guided bomb kits that are in use with the Indian air force
while it markets IAI ELTA's ELL-8222/8222WB airborne jamming pods and ELM-2180
Watchguard ground surveillance radar. Already marketing Top I Vision's
Casper-250 mini UAS, ALPHA DESIGN TECHNOLOGIES has recently struck a deal with
IAI to join forces with regard to similar miniature unmanned systems. It is
also involved in upgrades for the S-125 or SA-3 Pechora surface-to-air missile
system together with the OEM although officials declined to comment on the
nature of the work.
Meanwhile, the company is constructing
two Mi-17 simulators for the Indian air force while it has recently finished
upgrading a MiG-29 simulator. Considering the sheer size of India and the fact
that air force units are distributed over the country, it is likely that orders
for additional simulators and upgrades will soon be made.
Pieter Bastiaans
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