January 9, 2008: India has confirmed that its six Su-30
fighters, that will participate in U.S. Air Force "Red Flag" exercises in the
United States (Nevada) this Summer, will not use their Russian made NO11M
radar. This is a modern radar, which first entered service in 1993. India, and
the Russians, don't want the NO11M broadcasting at a place like Nellis Air
Force Base, the Nevada location of the Red Flag exercises. That's because
Nellis has plenty of equipment to pick up every nuance of the NO11M operation.
This makes it easier to develop countermeasures for the radar.
In the fifteen years the NO11M has been
in service, the U.S. has probably recorded it in action, but not to the extent
that this could be done at Nellis. Then again, maybe American spies got all the
data they needed right from the factory. No one is talking, and the Indians, at
the behest of their Russians suppliers, are not taking any chances.
