Flycatcher to strike enemy planes

PUNE, Oct 14: Air Defence Artillery, Dehu Road, a part of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers EME has recently acquired the flycatcher...

PUNE, Oct 14: Air Defence Artillery, Dehu Road, a part of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers EME has recently acquired the flycatcher8217; a sophisticated radar which can hone onto a target in a range of 20 km and can fire 360 rounds per minute with anti-aircraft guns.

Mediapersons who were taken to the Dehu Road workshop on the eve of the 55th anniversary celebrations of EME were demonstrated the capability of the Indian army. The digital radar can not only track down the enemy aircraft but also lock onto the targets. At a given time, the radar can hone onto four targets and shoot at one target while continuing to keep track on the remaining enemy targets. It also has the capability to see through decoy targets and track targets at low altitude.

Dwelling at length on the achievements of EME, Maj. Gen. V.K. Varma, who heads EME in Southern Command, said the EME job was to keep the weapon systems in a fighting condition. A contingent of 90 men has recently been sent to Jammu and Kashmir to participate in the anti-insurgency operations. There are eight army base workshops including Delhi, Jabalpur, Kakinada, Meerut, Khadki and Bangalore.

Calling his combatants an excellent blend of soldiering and technicians, Maj. Gen. Varma said institutional training made them eminently qualified to handle any equipment in peace and war. Half of the EME officer cadre joins as engineering graduates from civil universities.

The Armoured Static Workshop of the Corps of EME, Ahmednagar, which also celebrates its anniversary, has major plans to give a new lease of life to 600 tanks in near future.

Officer Commanding Col. N.K. Dutta told visiting media persons that the workshop, which conducts medium and field repairs on tanks and infantry combat vehicles had already completed work on 400 tanks. The workshop has six models of T-55 tanks 8211; Russian and Polish. And provides repair cover to the Armoured Corps School and Centre ACCS and Mechanised Infantry Regimental Centre MIRC.

Col. Dutta said the process involved complete dissembling of the 6,000 components of a tank and inspection and change of necessary parts. The workshop meets the medium repair target of four to five tanks and four to five BMPs a year. A single tank requires at least 45 days for complete repairs after which the tank8217;s life is increased by another 12 to 14 years.

Story continues below this ad

Normal repairs are conducted on 20 tanks a year. The workshop has a strength of 600, of them 40 per cent civilians. Col. Dutta said they have 25 types of simulators and 15 small arms simulators.