The government has cleared the purchase and integration of Traffic
Collision Avoidance Systems (TCAS) on the Indian Navy's Tu-142, Dornier
Do-228 and Il-38SD aircraft fleets, in a crucial move to shore up flight
safety during extended operations at sea.
The navy has for
years felt the need to give its reconnaissance fleet airborne collision
avoidance systems. The recent deployment of P-8I aircraft in the hunt
for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 underscored the need for TCAS
on all aircraft. The navy's Tu-142s, also based at INS Rajali in
Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu, had also been on standby for the search operation
but were not used since they would have been deployed in airspace that
was thick with other aircraft and helicopters.
The navy's worst ever disaster before the INS Sindhurakshak tragedy last year, was the mid-air collision of two Il-38s in Goa during jubilee celebrations of the navy's air arm.
The effort to arm these aircraft (new ones were procured subsequently) with TCAS and other safety systems has been on since then.
The navy has for
years felt the need to give its reconnaissance fleet airborne collision
avoidance systems. The recent deployment of P-8I aircraft in the hunt
for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 underscored the need for TCAS
on all aircraft. The navy's Tu-142s, also based at INS Rajali in
Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu, had also been on standby for the search operation
but were not used since they would have been deployed in airspace that
was thick with other aircraft and helicopters. The navy's worst ever disaster before the INS Sindhurakshak tragedy last year, was the mid-air collision of two Il-38s in Goa during jubilee celebrations of the navy's air arm.
The effort to arm these aircraft (new ones were procured subsequently) with TCAS and other safety systems has been on since then.
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