India on Monday took delivery of its first Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) plane, as part of a deal with Israel worth more than one billion dollars, officials said. The delivery is seen as part of India's quest for air dominance over arch rival Pakistan as well as a milestone in growing military ties with Israel.
"India is one of the few countries to have inducted the AWACS in their air forces," Indian air force spokesman wing commander T.K. Singha said as the AWACS plane escorted by fighter jets landed at an airbase in western India. The plane equipped with the sophisticated Phalcon early warning radar surveillance system is the first of three units that Israel Aerospace Industries agreed to sell to India as part of a 2004 deal. "The remaining two are expected to be inducted into the Indian air force by 2010," Singha said.
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