DRDO Signs AEW&C Mk-II Contracts With AIESL and Adani Defence for Six New 'Eyes in the Sky'
DRDO has signed two contracts to build the AEW&C Mk-II (Netra Mk II) surveillance aircraft — with AIESL converting six Airbus A321s into radar platforms and Adani Defence developing the mission systems — marking a major step for India's indigenous airborne early-warning capability.
Manik Gupta
Founder and editor of DeepTech India. Manik writes about India's frontier technology ecosystem — AI, semiconductors, space, quantum, robotics and biotech — translating research and policy into clear, reliable reporting.
India moved a step closer to fielding its next generation of airborne radar aircraft on 22 July 2026, when the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) signed two industry contracts to build the Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) Mk-II system, also known as Netra Mk II. The agreements were inked in New Delhi in the presence of Defence Secretary and DRDO Chairman Rajesh Kumar Singh, and mark the formal start of a programme that has been years in the planning.
The two contracts
The deals were signed by the Centre for Air Borne Systems (CABS), the Bengaluru-based DRDO laboratory that leads the country's airborne surveillance efforts. The first contract went to AI Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), the maintenance, repair and overhaul arm of Air India, which will convert six Airbus A321 aircraft from their commercial passenger configuration into "green" platforms — stripped-down airframes fitted with the structural, electrical and cooling provisions needed to carry a heavy radar and mission suite.
The second contract was awarded to Adani Defence Systems and Technologies Limited (ADSTL), which has been selected as the Development-cum-Production Partner for the mission systems. These are the sensors and command-and-control electronics that turn an ordinary jet into a flying radar station capable of detecting, tracking and directing responses to airborne threats. The selection of a private Indian company as a co-development partner for such a sensitive payload reflects how far the government's push to draw industry into defence research has come.
Why the Airbus A321 matters
The choice of the Airbus A321 as the base airframe is significant. India's existing Netra Mk I fleet is built on the smaller Embraer ERJ-145 regional jet, which limits both the size of the radar antenna it can carry and the number of mission operators and consoles aboard. A larger airliner-class platform like the A321 offers far more internal volume, electrical power and endurance, allowing DRDO to install a bigger active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and to give the aircraft wider azimuth coverage and longer time on station.
Repurposing airline-standard A321s also fits India's broader strategy of building capability on proven, widely supported commercial platforms rather than sourcing bespoke military airframes from abroad — an approach that eases maintenance, training and spares logistics over the decades an AEW&C aircraft typically serves.
From Netra to Netra Mk II
The Netra family is the indigenous complement to India's larger Israeli-origin "Phalcon" AWACS aircraft mounted on Il-76 transports. The first-generation Netra Mk I, developed by CABS on the Embraer platform, has already been inducted by the Indian Air Force and has received operational clearance. The Mk II is designed to be a substantial leap forward: more powerful radar, greater coverage, and a larger crew and equipment capacity, all of which extend the range at which the IAF can see and manage the air picture along its borders.
DRDO has stressed that all major elements of the system — the radar, mission electronics, and the command-and-control software — are being designed and integrated domestically, with industry partners handling manufacturing and platform conversion. That division of labour is intended to keep the core technology in Indian hands while using private capacity to build at scale.
The strategic backdrop
Airborne early warning aircraft are among the most prized assets in modern air warfare because they dramatically extend the range at which an air force can detect low-flying aircraft, cruise missiles and drones that would otherwise slip below ground-based radar horizons. For India, which faces contested airspace along two borders, expanding the AEW&C fleet has been a long-standing priority. The six-aircraft Mk-II programme was cleared by the government at a cost widely reported to be in the region of 11,000 crore rupees, and the July contracts convert that in-principle approval into concrete build orders.
The programme also deepens the role of Indian industry in strategic aerospace. AIESL brings heavy-airframe engineering and modification experience, while Adani Defence adds systems integration capacity to a domain long dominated by state laboratories and public-sector units.
What comes next
With the contracts signed, AIESL will begin the multi-year task of acquiring and converting the A321 airframes, while CABS and Adani Defence develop and integrate the mission systems. The aircraft will then undergo extensive ground and flight testing alongside the IAF before certification by airworthiness authorities and eventual induction. If the timeline holds, the Netra Mk II will give India one of the more capable indigenous airborne surveillance fleets in the region, and a template for building complex defence platforms through a mix of public research and private manufacturing.
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