The LLLR radar contract signed on Wednesday will see Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) supply Improved Low Level Light Weight Radars (LLLR-I) to the Indian Army at a cost of around Rs 770 crore. The Ministry of Defence signed the deal with the Navratna defence public sector undertaking in New Delhi, in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.

The radar is built to detect and track fighter-sized aircraft as well as mini and micro drones.

It can also sort aerial targets by priority. According to the Ministry of Defence, this will enable the Army to counter the threat posed by Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS).

LLLR radar contract signed with BEL in New Delhi

The announcement did not carry the number of radars or a delivery schedule, which is usual at contract signings.

Wednesday's order follows a Rs 661.50 crore contract the ministry signed on October 6 with BrahMos Aerospace for BrahMos fire control systems and launchers for Navy ships, also in the presence of the Defence Secretary. Both orders went to Indian firms.

Radar watches the low airspace where drones fly

Helicopters, small drones and low-flying aircraft can stay under the coverage of large surveillance radars. A light forward radar covers that band.

Earlier reporting described the LLLR-I as a software-defined pulse-Doppler radar with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) antenna and gallium nitride (GaN) amplifiers, giving it better handling of ground clutter and multipath reflections.

Drone defence is now routine training across the Services. The Air Force drilled helicopter crews against hostile drones in Exercise Rotor Clap III in Rajasthan.

February tender sought 30 radars for mountains, deserts and coasts

The LLLR radar contract comes eight months after the ministry issued a request for proposal (RFP) on February 6 for 30 LLLR-I radars and two classroom variants, estimated at around Rs 725 crore. The tender was run under the fast-track procurement route in the Buy (Indian) category, with the Indian Army as the end user.

The radars are meant for mountains, high-altitude areas, plains, semi-deserts, deserts and coastal belts.

Under the tender terms, the system had to be man-portable and movable by the Army's load-carrying vehicles, by rail, by aircraft and slung under a helicopter. Reported requirements included detection of aerial targets out to around 50 km. Each radar also had to pass at least 20 tracks at a time to a minimum of 10 command posts or weapon systems fitted with target data receivers, placed up to 20 km away.

Tender sought Akashteer link and 60 percent indigenous content

The RFP required the radar to plug into Akashteer, the Army's automated air defence control and reporting system, and to meet Army Cyber Group norms for a secure connection to the Army Data Network. A minimum of 60 percent indigenous content was mandated.

An earlier ministry tender had sought 10 LLLR (Improved) units for the Army through the Directorate General of Army Air Defence.

BEL radars already in Army and Air Force service

BEL builds a range of indigenous radars for the forces. The Defence Acquisition Council cleared a Navy variant of the Arudhra medium power radar in September, a system designed by DRDO's Electronics and Radar Development Establishment and made by BEL. In March 2025, the ministry signed a Rs 2,906 crore contract with BEL for the Ashwini low level transportable radar for the Air Force.

General Upendra Dwivedi, then Chief of the Army Staff, received feedback on the BEL-made LLLR-I at the Babina field firing ranges on May 27, 2025.

According to the ministry, the procurement is a step towards indigenising air defence platforms in line with the Viksit Bharat @2047 vision. It gives a boost to the domestic defence manufacturing ecosystem, including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and to building a resilient, self-reliant and globally competitive defence industry.