NEW DELHI, July 1 (UPI) -- India has awarded a contract to EADS Defense and Security for the development of system architecture for an airborne early warning and control program.
Under the contract awarded by the Defense Research and Development Organization, EADS DS support services will focus on certification and mission equipment optimization of AEW&C aircraft that are based on a modified ERJ-145 passenger jet from Brazilian manufacturer Embraer.
The AEW&C aircraft, the first to arrive in 2011, will have multiple sensors for surveillance, signal intelligence and electronic warfare.
EADS will work on design and development with the DRDO to provide the operator with the capability to communicate with other fighters through ultra-high-frequency data-links during air-defense operations.
EADS DS said the contract is worth in the "two-digit" million-dollar range.
"From our systems responsibility for the overall military management system of the A400M transport aircraft, we have thorough experience in certification of aircraft according to civil and military rules," Bernd Wenzler, chief executive of Defense Electronics, said.
"This, together with our broad technology base in sensors and data fusion, makes us the ideal partner for DRDO."
Defense Electronics has, since 2006, cooperated in developing a missile approach warning system for Indian helicopter and wide-body aircraft.
It has also developed a data fusion system for the NATO AWACS aircraft as well as similar airborne early warning fleets for Australia and Turkey.
India took the decision to use the Embraer ERJ-145 jets as the platform for its AEW&C aircraft in February 2005 when it signed a memorandum of understanding for three aircraft with the manufacturer in Brazil.
The contract to start production was signed in July 2008 and delivery of the first twin-engine, seven-crew plane is set for next year.
The 50-seat ERJ-145 first flew in 1995 and is the largest of the ERJ family of regional passenger jets, competing with Bombardier's CRJ planes.
Its rear-mounted twin Roll Royce engines give it a top speed of nearly 260 mph, a ceiling height of 37,000 feet and a maximum range of 2,500 miles.
Embraer's deal with the DRDO includes training, technical support, spare parts and ground support equipment.
The planes will be fitted out by DRDO in India with cabin equipment and mission systems, including the EADS AEW&C systems architecture.
The ERJ 145 platform already is used on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions in Brazil, Mexico and Greece.
Indian also operates five Embraer Legacy planes, the upmarket VIP passenger version of the ERJ-145. The Indian air force has four for transporting VIPs and visiting dignitaries and the Border Security Force has one.
One of the largest operators of the ERJ-145 is ExpressJet Airlines, the Houston regional carrier and a former Continental Airlines division. ExpressJet has more than 250 of the nearly 1,000 ERJ-145 planes operating worldwide.
Embraer also did a deal in 2003 with Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corp in China. Harbin Embraer produces the ERJ-145 for the Chinese market by assembling knock-down kits manufactured by other worldwide Embraer operations.
