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India's self-reliant defence sector has achieved a major milestone with the successful testing of the domestically built Uttam Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar.
Created by the Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE) under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), this advanced fire control system recently completed comprehensive flight evaluations.
Mounted on the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas prototypes, specifically the LSP-2 and LSP-3, the radar proved its capabilities in both air-to-air (A2A) and air-to-ground (A2G) combat scenarios.
This success highlights India's expanding capacity to produce top-tier airborne sensors tailored for modern warfare, ensuring the Indian Air Force has reliable, homegrown technology at the core of its fighter fleet.
Through persistent evaluations across various Tejas platforms, the Uttam programme has logged significant operational flight time.
By the end of 2025, the radar had conducted well over 150 test flights aboard Tejas Mk1 prototypes, building on the foundational data gathered from its integration on the LSP-2 and LSP-3 jets.
These trials exhaustively tested the radar across all of its operational modes, confirming its ability to accurately detect, track, and engage targets in highly realistic, real-world environments.
Recent open-source data indicates that during these trials, the radar successfully demonstrated a tracking range of 140 kilometres against fighter-sized targets.
The flawless performance recorded during these flights proves the system's maturity, with technical teams having successfully fine-tuned the hardware, software, and specific combat modes to satisfy strict military requirements.
A crucial step forward was recently formalised by the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), which certified that the Uttam radar has successfully passed four critical phases of flight testing along with its associated hardware qualification.
This official clearance is a vital stepping stone toward mass manufacturing and integration into frontline combat jets. Following these certifications, the radar is now ready for serial production.
Defence industry reports confirm that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is preparing to receive the first batches of these domestically produced radars soon.
They are slated to be directly integrated into the upcoming order of 97 Tejas Mk1A aircraft for the Indian Air Force, initiating a phased replacement of imported sensor systems.
When compared to proven global alternatives, the Uttam AESA radar stands out with superior technical metrics.
Evaluations reveal that it offers approximately 25% greater overall efficiency in terms of detection range, mapping resolution, and multi-target tracking when measured against the Israeli EL/M-2052 AESA radar, which was utilized in initial Tejas models.
While the Israeli counterpart is known to track up to 64 targets, the Uttam radar—packed with a high density of approximately 980 solid-state Transmit/Receive Modules (TRMs)—can seamlessly track over 100 targets simultaneously.
This high module count gives pilots exceptional situational awareness, better detection of stealthy or low-observable threats, and stronger resistance to enemy electronic jamming, solidifying it as the ideal sensor for India's evolving air combat needs.
A defining feature of the Uttam project is its remarkable commitment to domestic manufacturing.
The radar system boasts an indigenisation rate of about 95%, requiring only a single minor sub-component to be imported.
This substantial local manufacturing footprint significantly cuts down reliance on overseas vendors and guarantees absolute sovereign control over future software upgrades, routine maintenance, and electronic warfare threat libraries.
Perfectly in tune with the government's Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, the Uttam is designed as a highly adaptable and scalable platform.
Looking ahead, DRDO is already developing even more powerful Gallium Nitride (GaN)-based variants of the Uttam radar to equip the heavier Tejas Mk2, the upcoming fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), and to serve as a core upgrade for India's legacy fighter fleets.
