Army's Rs 770 crore radar order with BEL adds a low-level detection layer against drones and low-flying aircraft

On 21 October 2026 the Ministry of Defence signed a contract worth Rs 770 crore with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for Improved Low Level Light Weight Radars, LLLR-I, for the Indian Army. UNI reports the contract was signed in New Delhi in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh. The ministry says the radar can detect and track fighter-sized targets and mini and micro drones, and can prioritise aerial targets.

What the radar is described as

The Week's description of the system, which is the outlet's own account and not an explicit ministry statement, adds the following:

• 360-degree coverage from four fixed phased-array panels with no moving parts.
• AESA technology with GaN amplifiers, digital beamforming, 3D processing, Track While Scan and electronic counter-countermeasures.
• Detection of low radar cross-section targets, and sharing of target data with weapon systems.
• A lightweight, tripod-mounted, passively cooled design for plains, deserts and high-altitude areas.

The ministry says the procurement will improve the Army's ability to counter unmanned aerial system threats and fits the goal of a self-reliant defence industry.

Why it matters

Low-flying aircraft and small drones are hard to detect: terrain and clutter shorten warning time, and small targets return little signal. A radar is the first link in an air-defence chain, and it has to find and track a target before a gun, missile, jammer or laser can be assigned to it. This order is for that sensing link, not for the engagement systems. It is a production contract with a named domestic supplier, which separates it from component development or prototype tests.

What has not been disclosed

• The number of radars and the delivery schedule.
• Detection range, radar band and per-system cost.
• Indigenous-content percentage. Reports call the system indigenous but give no figure.
• Which Army formations will receive the radars, and the acceptance and trial milestones.

Technical features above come from a single press description and should be treated as reported, not verified.

Related coverage

S-097 covered the IDDS Mark-II directed-energy counter-drone programme, S-138 covered JWALA's rocket-motor test for hard-kill interceptors, and S-101 covered DRDO's indigenous GaN technology for radar and electronic warfare. Those are effects and components. This is a signed order for the sensor layer. The Week notes GaN amplifiers in LLLR-I, but no source here links the radar's components to S-101's DRDO work.

What to watch

Watch for the contracted quantity, delivery start, Army acceptance trials, domestic-content disclosures by BEL, and how LLLR-I tracks are handed to soft-kill and hard-kill systems. A signed contract is an acquisition milestone, not a fielded network.