DRDO AEW&C conducted its first time air to air refueling by IAF IL 78 tanker

The Indian Air Force’s ‘eye-in-the-sky’ the Embraer Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&C), today received a shot in the arm that will further its ability to carry out prolonged surveillance mission. 

The Air Force, for the first time, carried out mid-air re-fueling of the Embraer AEW&C using the mighty Ilyushin Il-78 (IL-78), a tanker aircraft. Videos shared on Twitter by news agency ANI and other defence journalists showed a sight to behold, as the two Air Force jets matched their speed and flew alongside while a pipe extending from the IL-78 refuelled the Embraer AEW&C. 

The Airborne Early Warning and Control system that is mounted on the Brazillian Embraer jet is an indigenous product developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The Embraer jet was modified to install the Indian AEW&C system, and the combination was inducted into the Indian Air Force earlier this year. A Press Information Bureau release from February called the system a “game changer in air warfare”. The configuration is “populated with state-of-the art Active Electronically Scanned Radar, Secondary Surveillance Radar, Electronic and Communication Counter Measures, LOS (Line of Sight) and beyond LOS data link, voice communication system and self protection suite”.