Overview
- The Final Operational Clearance certificate was handed to the IAF at a Bengaluru ceremony on June 25, 2026, formally moving Netra from trial use to fully certified status.
- Netra is an indigenously developed AEW&C built by DRDO’s Centre for Airborne Systems on an Embraer EMB-145 airframe and carries an AESA radar, IFF, mission computer, secure communications and electronic support measures.
- IAF and Defence Ministry officials say Netra proved its operational value during the 2019 Balakot strikes and during Operation Sindoor in 2025 when it provided wide-area surveillance and battle-management support.
- The Cabinet Committee on Security has approved development of six additional Netra Mk-1A systems and work continues on a larger, next-generation A321-based AEW&C to deliver greater range and endurance.
- The FOC was dedicated to the four DRDO scientists and four IAF personnel killed in the 1999 ASP crash, closing a decades-long programme that began with Project Guardian and resumed after a 2004 re-approval.