- In a boost to Make in India in the defence sector, six more Swathi weapon-locating radars developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are likely to be procured for the Indian Army. The case for acquisition of six Swathi weapon-locating radars worth over 400 crores is scheduled to be taken up in a defence ministry meeting likely to be held tomorrow, defence sources said.
- The Weapon Locating Radar (WLR) also known as Swathi is a mobile artillery-locating phased array radar developed by India. This counter-battery radar is designed to detect and track incoming artillery and rocket fire to determine the point of origin for counter-battery fire.
- The weapon-locating radars developed by the DRDO and built by Bharat Electronics Limited had achieved major success as they were supplied to a foreign country also. The Swathi weapon-locating radars will provide fast, automatic, and accurate locations of enemy weapons like mortars, shells, and rockets in the 50-kilometre range. The radar can simultaneously detect multiple projectiles fired from different weapons at different locations.
- The Indian Army has been using the radars for its operations along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. The system was given for trial to Army in 2018.
- Indian Army has been giving a major push to the indigenization and has given orders for many types of equipment like self-propelled artillery guns to Indian vendors.
