NEW DELHI — The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is preparing to flight-test its indigenous Long Range Detection and Tracking System (LRDTS), an airborne infrared search and track (IRST) system developed by the Instruments Research and Development Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun.
IRDE has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for flying test-bed services to evaluate two LRDTS hardware prototypes, designated SB1 and SB2.
The trials will use a modified British Aerospace BAE 125-800A, also known as the Hawker 800 series, as the primary test aircraft. The campaign requires approximately 45 flight hours on the Hawker, with an Aero L-39 Albatros serving as the target aircraft for about 30 hours.
The LRDTS will include a nose-mounted Sensor Head Unit (SHU) weighing approximately 25 kg and requiring around 350 watts of power. Its separate Processing Unit (PU) weighs about 14 kg and requires approximately 250 watts.
The system will interface with the aircraft's test systems to collect tracking data. Planned connections include two ARINC 818 Fibre Channel links for video transmission, along with MIL-STD-1553B and Ethernet links. A Mission Computer Simulator will also be installed in the aircraft cabin.
Flight trials will cover altitudes from approximately 5,000 to 29,000 feet and will include land, maritime and industrial backgrounds, as well as day and night sorties. These conditions will allow the LRDTS to be evaluated against airborne targets under different environmental and lighting conditions.
Unlike active radar, an IRST system detects and tracks targets through their infrared signatures without transmitting radar signals. The planned trials will therefore focus on the performance of the indigenous system in detecting and tracking the L-39 target under the specified test conditions.
The overall programme is planned for 45 months, with the flight-test campaign based in Bengaluru. The RFP seeks services to support the airborne evaluation of the two LRDTS prototypes.
IRDE is a DRDO laboratory under the Electronics and Communication Systems cluster and specialises in electronic, electro-optical and laser-based sensors and systems for defence applications.
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