August 27,
2008: Eight Indian Su-30 fighters, participating in U.S. Air Force "Red
Flag" exercises in the United States (Nevada), have been ordered not to
use their Russian made NO11M radar. This was expected, as the Indians are obliged
to keep the technical details of this equipment secret, lest a potential enemy
get a head start on figuring out how to deal with it. Allowing this radar to
emit its regular signals would give counter-measures people a head start in
figuring out how to deceive it.
NO11M 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 broadcasting in combat mode.
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.
Indian
pilots were also not allowed to drop chaff or flares, or use some of the other
electronic communications their Su-30s are equipped with.
