Swedish defence and aerospace manufacturer Saab said it has received an order to deliver two GlobalEye airborne early warning and control aircraft to an undisclosed customer based in the Middle East. The order, valued at a little over $1 billion, demonstrates another major win for the Swedish manufacturer over global aerospace rivals such as Boeing Aerospace, IAI Elta of Israel, Brazil’s Embraer and Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation.

On Wednesday, 22 July, the DRDO’s Centre for Air Borne Systems signed a contract with New Delhi-based AI Engineering Services Limited to convert six Airbus A321 passenger aircraft to green configuration. The conversion will make the aircraft ready to take on mission systems and function as fully-configured airborne early warning and control jets.

The Indian Air Force desperately needs modern AWACS aircraft in large numbers, but it has inducted only three Netra Mk1 jets in the past decade, leaving major gaps in its long-range aerial surveillance capability. Armchair Perspectives looks at India's AWACS journey and how it plans to shore up the numbers in the coming decade.