Indian made AD radar failed to detect incoming LTTE Strikers
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Sri Lanka main Air base was bombed by tiny LTTE "airforce" on Monday and now initial investigation report is out...
Sri Lanka: Faulty radar helped Tamil Eelam Air Force?...
Initial investigations revealed that the first generation radar installed by India failed to detect the incoming aircraft until the radar at the adjacent Bandaranaike International Airport identified them.
"The detection was made as the aircraft were about 3 kms off the airbase," a senior defence official said.
Had the SLAF radar spotted the intruders, the outcome of MondayÂ’s encounter would have been different, he said.
Before the detection by BIA radar, the SLAF had received information about the LTTE aircraft crossing the northern-line-of-control through ground based sources. But the intended target was not specified until the BIA radar picked the enemy craft approaching the airbase.
The government on Monday discussed ways and means of meeting the new threat. The Island learns that that the government raised the issue with the Indian High Commission on Monday. Sri Lankan officials are believed to have explained the urgent need to fully activate the existing system.
Although three of the four radars promised by India are in place, there are believed to be operational problems. The fourth is likely to be installed in the northern theatre. Sri Lanka wants India to fully activate the system on a priority basis.
India stepped in with an offer to establish a radar network after President Chandrika KumaratungaÂ’s government initiated talks with China to acquire a 3D radar system. Former Indian High Commissioner Nirupama Rao, currently New DelhiÂ’s top envoy is believed to have initiated the move on behalf of her government as India had national security concerns.
The Island learns that President Mahinda Rajapakse is likely to seek a meeting with RaoÂ’s successor Alok Prasad in this regard. The unprecedented attack has prompted the government to review the existing counter measures on a priority basis.
President Rajapakse called an urgent meeting with political party leaders to brief them of the current situation.
Although the LTTE scored a huge propaganda victory, LTTE aircraft failed to hit the intended targets-Israeli built Kfirs and Ukrainian MIG 27s. SLAF headquarters said that two of the three bombs dropped by the LTTE exploded causing damages to three buildings.
Pro-LTTE TamilNet quoted unnamed airmen as saying that several SLAF jet bombers were put out of action by fierce fires which broke out in the hangars struck by the LTTE aircraft. Up to 40% of the SLAFÂ’s strike capability has been knocked out, the website reported.
SLAF headquarters yesterday emphasised that the LTTE attack did not dent its strike capability. "All Kfirs and the newly acquired MIG 27s are safe," an official said. "They missed their targets," he said, adding, "We would continue to take targets depending on the requirement."
Kfirs and MIG 27s launched from Katunayake engaged five LTTE targets on Monday afternoon and yesterday.
Aircraft targeted LTTE positions north of Mannar, Mullaitivu, Kanagarayankulam and South of Thoppigala. The SLAF said that an LTTE intelligence base and a Sea Tiger facility were among the targets taken.
A senior government official yesterday contradicted B. Raman, former head of Research and Analysis Wing who claimed that the LTTE air wing had been in existence for nine years without the Sri Lankan intelligence having the least idea about its location and capability.
Raman, a former Additional Secretary of the Cabinet of India made the declaration hours after the terrorist attack. Sri Lankan sources pointed out the absurdity in RamanÂ’s assertion. He conveniently ignored that India installed radars after Sri Lanka sought to deploy an advanced Chinese early warning system.
The sources emphasized that Sri Lanka sought the Chinese help after obtaining credible information about the existence of the LTTE air wing. The sources revealed that Sri Lanka also briefed permanent members of the UN Security Council plus India of the growing threat posed by the LTTE air wing in early 2005. In fact, a comprehensive dossier which included even a short footage obtained by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) of the ‘LTTE assets’ was made available to the big five-US, Russia, China, UK and France and India. The sources said that this was done at the highest level as Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar correctly assessed the threat. According to a senior official Sri Lanka’s action was in line with US Security Council Resolution 1373.
In the wake of the 11 September 2001 Al Qaeda attack in the US, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1373, which, among its provisions, obliges all States to criminalize assistance for terrorist activities, deny financial support and safe haven to terrorists and share information about groups planning terrorist attacks.
The 15-member Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) was established at the same time to monitor implementation of the resolution. While the ultimate aim of the Committee is to increase the ability of States to fight terrorism, it is not a sanctions body nor does it maintain a list of terrorist organizations or individuals.
Sri Lanka believes that LTTE is in pocession of a few aircraft possibly Pilatus PC-7, Pilatus PC-21 and Zlin Z 143. The sources said that India was the first to receive the dossier on the LTTE attempts to build an air wing. -
Now the Sri Lanka media is in an outraged mode, accusing India of forcing SLAF to accept a malfunctioned Radar that caused the nationÂ’s shame.
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items07/290307-1.htmlMeanwhile the editorial of the newspaper of the same day accused India of selling an outdated radar system to the government under pressure while Sri Lanka was negotiating for a radar system from the PeopleÂ’s Republic of China of the 3D variety. The newspaper said the Indian radar system has been malfunctioning ever since and even on the day the LTTE attacked it was out of commission and under repairs.
The editorial alleged India forced on Sri Lanka as a big brother the malfunctioning outdated system putting out pseudo reasons of regional security with clumsy arguments against buying the Chinese one in 2002.
The strongly worded editorial said the only good thing the country got from India was Buddhism and almost every other thing the island nation received like Indian expansionism , Prabhakaran and Indo-Lanka Agreement was laced with nothing but venomous trouble.
The editorial said Prabhakaran was a pathogen introduced by India and the meaningless Provincial Council system was manufactured to sell to Prabhakaran for appeasement.
The newspaper sarcastically said, the Indian radar system should be melted into iron and should be put for better use by manufacturing mammoties for the rice farmers. -
What good things can India produced? -
its really funny to see a few flies can caused so many troubles for the both government
i suppose it is a major victory for the tigers . -
actually.. i support the tigers since long long ago...who is really the right one?? subjective lorOriginally posted by givemeluck:its really funny to see a few flies can caused so many troubles for the both government
i suppose it is a major victory for the tigers .
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We should sell them our sky hawak...
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i'll never buy made in india stuffs again.
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Guess who is gonna be receiving Made in India Sukhoi parts?
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habis ... what about all the HDB flats then ? ....Originally posted by gigabyte14:i'll never buy made in india stuffs again. -
Other tea and beedee cigarettes, I don't recall having used much Indian products.
Their military production is plague by all kinds of problems. It seems nothing to make work well? -
Political storm is comingÂ…
Sri Lanka: Political Party blast IndiaÂ’s radar systemÂ…
Friday, 30 March 2007
The Patriotic National Movement (PNM) yesterday charged that the negligence on the part of the government, sub standard radar system and anti aircraft weapons given by India had prevented the air force from hitting back when the LTTE attacked the Katunayake Air Force base.
PNM President Gunadasa Amarasekera told a news conference that India had prevented Sri Lanka from getting a sophisticated radar system from China.
“This air strike had greatly disappointed the people,” he said.
Â… -
I think most forumers here do not comprehend the complexity of air traffic control and air defense radar.
The military air defense radar needs to be integrated to with civilian air traffic control to take the tracks of the airliners or you end up shooting down on a 747. -
That's true, but then, I thought you were not supposed to fly over sensitive airbases, warzones etc. I mean you have to fly directly OVER the airbase to bomb the airbase, right?Originally posted by touchstone_2000:I think most forumers here do not comprehend the complexity of air traffic control and air defense radar.
The military air defense radar needs to be integrated to with civilian air traffic control to take the tracks of the airliners or you end up shooting down on a 747.
How complicated is it for a radar to detect and determine that something flying over the airbase is a threat. -
Read carefully, the Sri Lankan media reports saying the Air base totally missed out the target, NOT saying the LTTE lighter planes were detected but wrongly IDed by the air baseÂ’s AD radar.
One would argue a western German guy who flied a light aircraft and landed in Red-square many years ago, but in that case, the USSR air defense had long ago detected that light aircraft but only mistakenly identified it as a local sport plane attending a ceremony. -
C'mon people, let's not generalise things here. There's still alot of answers that had yet to be addressed for this successful LTTE air-raid.Originally posted by zenden9:
What good things can India produced?
The Sri Lankan military was caught with their pants down this time and naturally finger-pointing is conveniently pointed at India over this debacle (sounds familiar? Remember GEN Sonthi remarks at S'pore?).
Given the air superiority enjoyed by the SLAF, it would be pure suicidal for the Air Tigers (with their single-engined pleasure-craft) to venture into the air under broad daylight! Therefore it is natural that the LTTE single-engined craft flew at low-level and at night.
Now, there are claims and fears that the LTTE pilots had NVGs (whereas the SLAF pilots did not) during the attack. But come to think of it, the craft must be flying just above the tree-tops and the LTTE pilots could thus navigate their way by the terrain and using a simple compass and the bright lights of the airbase to home in and one don't need a TOP GUN-trained pilot to do that!
Now I'm not versed in electronics nor radar tech, but I believed the Indian-supply AD radar must be scanning the horizon and the LTTE plane must had flew under the radar (remember what I said about the navigation part?).
As the facts of this raid is still being examine, let's not jump to conclusions. Mind you, the SLAF possesses the MiG-27 and years before, there were many fatalities of this jet during low-level attack runs and it was found that SLAF pilots were being rushed to fly this fast jet w/o proper training. Thus is the MiG-27 at fault then? -
interesting tactical victory by the LTTE.
as usual, the party with the red face will finger point at others. in this case, tough luck India. -
I wonÂ’t say much. Please note the LTTEÂ’s farm planes were picked up by CIVIL RADAR in a nearby international airport when they were just 3 kms away from their target: the Sri-Lankan main airbase. So I donÂ’t think the pilotÂ’s skill played a much important role in this raid.
As a matter of fact, Sri-Lankan forces were aware of LTTEÂ’s threat from air beforehand, even when the farmplanes just took off, the authority had already been briefed that an air strike was coming, yet, as a main military base in war time, they lacked the minimum and proper facility to even look out their known threats. What a pity.
Just image any RSAF airbase doesnÂ’t operate radar for early warning or always down for repairing. WhatÂ’s your reaction? -
When it comes to military hardware, even the most optimistic, impartial observer will be hard put to say much positive things about Made-in-India weapons. The only real positive thing is that they are trying, and they will soon succeed.Originally posted by Black Aces:C'mon people, let's not generalise things here. There's still alot of answers that had yet to be addressed for this successful LTTE air-raid.
Though I don't disagree that sometimes, other people conveniently blame their problems on shoddy Indian-made stuff cos it's easier to do that - since it's become a popular notion - than to admit to their own incompetence.
It is for those who are interested to put aside prejudice and find out the truth.
