BEL completes weapon-locating radar deliveries to Indian Army

Bharat Electronics Limited has completed the deliveries of the Swathi Weapon Locating Radar Mark I (pictured) to the Indian Army. (BEL)

India's state-owned Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has completed the deliveries of the Swathi Weapon Locating Radar (WLR) Mk I to the Indian Army.

A spokesperson for BEL told Janes on 5 March that the agency has delivered the final radar under a contract secured in March 2023 to supply 12 Swathi WLR Mk I systems to the Indian Army. The contract was worth INR9.91 billion (USD113.6 million).

“Swathi WLR Mk I is specifically designed for operations in plains,” the spokesperson said.

“BEL has previously supplied 31 Swathi WLR Mk I systems to the Indian Army under a contract secured in 2015. With the latest delivery, the Indian Army now has 43 Swathi WLR Mk I systems in service,” the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson said the Indian Army is also using six Swathi WLR Mk II systems procured under a contract awarded to BEL in December 2021.

“Swathi WLR Mk II is a smaller variant of Swathi WLR Mk I and is specifically designed for operations in mountainous terrains. Both the variants of the Swathi WLR have the same range,” the spokesperson added.

According to Janes C4ISR & Mission Systems: Land, the Swathi WLR is a mobile long-range 3D electronically scanned phased-array C-band, pulse-Doppler radar with an operating frequency of 5.4–5.85 GHz. It was developed by the state-owned Defence Research & Development Organisation's (DRDO's) Electronics & Radar Development Establishment.