The first modified aircraft for the indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) system being developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) landed on August 22 on Indian soil in Bangalore late in the night from Brazil.    

Developed by DRDO's Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS), the AEW&C system will be fitted on the Embraer aircraft procured from Brazil, where the aircraft underwent a series of successful tests, DRDO officials said in Delhi on August 23.    

The officials said that the aircraft ferried with several mission system external components of DRDO including the Active Electronically Scanned Array Antenna (radar) with passive electronics fitted on the aircraft.    

The aircraft was flagged off from Embraer facility in Brazil on Aug 17 by senior DRDO scientists and was flown to India. The arrival of this aircraft marks the beginning of another phase of journey leading to the next major milestone of integration of the DRDO developed mission system, which will be followed by development flight trials in India beginning of 2013, they said.    

The contract for the aircraft was singed in 2008 and the next plane in the series is expected to arrive in December this year.