Article Posted on : - Oct 28, 2011

An artistic representation of Integrated Electronic Warfare (IEW) systems.

NEW DELHI (PTI): Tata Power SED - a private sector defence company, has emerged as the lowest bidder in an Indian Army tender to develop two Integrated Electronic Warfare (IEW) systems for being deployed in the mountainous terrain of the country.

Tata Power, which had given its proposal in partnership with a foreign firm, pipped global players such as Elta from Israel to emerge as the lowest bidder, Defence Ministry sources told PTI here.

As per Indian defence procurement procedures, the lowest bidder meeting all the requirements of a tender is awarded the contract after price negotiations.

The IEWS will be used to locate, detect and jam enemy radars and electro-optical measures in mountainous borders with China and Pakistan.

The global tender for IEWS was floated in 2007 and was participated by defence firms in Israel, France and Germany along with domestic companies Tata Power, Larsen and Toubro, BEL and Indian Telephone Industries (ITI).

Tata Power had recently bagged Indian Air Force's USD 260-million contract to modernise over 30 of its airfields marking the first victory of an Indian defence player in a global bid.

Strengthening their capabilities along the borders, Indian armed forces are expected to issue more such tenders in the near future.

In some of the cases, public sector companies have already been nominated to carry out the development of EW systems in collaboration with foreign partners.