IAF to Get 3 I-STAR Jets

Why India Needs I-STAR

India in its efforts to give a major boost to the defence capabilities, has sanctioned the Indian Air Force (IAF) to get 3 I-STAR spy planes worth INR₹10,000 crore. This is significant in light of the Operation Sindoor conducted by India against Pakistan. These 3 sophisticated spy planes will help the IAF get a clear air-to-ground picture allowing it to carry out precision strikes against enemy ground targets. The acquisition is set to be approved in late June 2025. I-STAR stands for Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance.

The project involves acquisition of three aircraft likely from either Boeing and Bombardier. It will then be fitted with fully indigenous sensors and electronic systems. The DRDO's Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS) has already successfully developed them and will have to be integrated with the 3 aircraft which would be acquired and modified for the purpose. I-STAR aircraft will put India in a select club of nations with such a capability, including the US, UK, Israel and a few others.

The ISTAR functionalities, based on operationally proven in-house sensors and mission systems, are customized and conformed into high-performance business jets to fully accommodate customers’ precise requirements.

I-STAR Features

  ·      ISTAR will provide dynamic and time-sensitive targeting capability.

  ·      Once operational, it will offer a dynamic and real-time picture of the battlefield.

   ·      It will aid in limiting the scale and complexity of undetected hostile threats.

   ·      It has multi-spectral surveillance capability to detect, locate and monitor irregular forces.

   ·      I-STAR aircraft will be used for carrying out intelligence gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance and targetting by day and night from stand-off ranges.

   ·      The ISTAR aircraft will be a system comprising airborne and ground segments.

The I-STAR aircraft are engineered to detect, track, and target enemy positions such as radar stations, mobile air defense units, and command hubs without breaching hostile airspace. Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS) systems have already passed their testing phases, enabling a faster integration timeline. Capable of multi-spectral surveillance, the DRDO systems will empower the aircraft to detect and track enemy assets around the clock, even in difficult terrains. Once operational, they’ll provide the IAF with real-time, high-fidelity intelligence to conduct precision strikes, placing India in a rare global league. Currently, only countries like the US, UK and Israel operate similar systems.

The I-STAR aircraft combine airborne and ground-based systems and are designed to function at high altitudes from stand-off ranges. This minimises exposure while enabling high-value target identification and engagement deep inside enemy territory. The integrated ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Targeting, and Reconnaissance) capabilities, these aircraft will enable India to conduct targeted operations that reduce collateral damage and limit escalation, while maintaining strategic superiority. I-STAR aircrafts will reinforce deterrence and enable swift, calibrated military responses in a volatile region; using AI (artificial intelligence), integrated onboard sensors and advanced processing to provide critical information to military and civilian air and ground crews. The ISTAR aircraft helps: -

    ·      Track mobile ground targets

    ·      Map natural disaster areas

    ·      Monitor vessels to enforce maritime embargos

    ·      Monitor activities near borders and littoral areas

What I-STAR Does

I-STAR stands for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, I-STAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing the information they gather. Information is collected on the battlefield through systematic observation by deployed soldiers and a variety of electronic sensors. Surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance are methods of obtaining this information. The information is then passed to intelligence personnel for analysis, and then to the commander and their staff for the formulation of battle plans. Intelligence is processed information that is relevant and contributes to an understanding of the ground, and of enemy dispositions and intents. Intelligence failures can happen.

I-STAR is the process of integrating the intelligence process with surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance tasks in order to improve a commander's situational awareness and consequently their decision making. The inclusion of the "I" is important as it recognizes the importance of taking the information from all the sensors and processing it into useful knowledge.

Variations of I-STAR

There are several variations on the "I-STAR" acronym. Some variations reflect specific emphasis on certain aspects of ISTAR.

   a.  Surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (STAR), the term used when emphasis is to be placed on the sensing component of I-STAR.

  b.  Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition (RSTA) is used by the US Army in place of STAR or I-STAR. Also, a term used to identify certain US Army units: for instance, 3rd Squadron, 153rd RSTA. These units serve a similar role to the below mentioned US Marine Corps STA platoons, but on a larger scale.

   c.   Surveillance and Target Acquisition (STA) role of a unit (e.g. STA patrol) is based on doctrine similar to ISTAR; for the US, and its allies and partners, its basis is the US National Defense Space Architecture (NDSA) as realized by layered constellations of Earth satellites and Earth stations

Integrating high-resolution sensors for Intelligence, Surveillance, Targeting and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) with ground C4I infrastructure. The applications include:-

   ·      ISTAR (SIGINT, IMINT)

   ·      Maritime Patrol

   ·      Counter Insurgency (COIN)

   ·      Stand Off/ Stand In

   ·      Wide Area Persistent Surveillance (WAPS)

   ·      Border/Coastal Security

   ·      EEZ Protection

Let's hope IAF gets to make the best use of I-STAR aircraft in the best way possible.