Question:medium

India purchased surveillance aircrafts (AWACS) during 2016 from:

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AWACS are often called the "eyes in the sky" for their role in modern warfare, providing early warning and battlefield management.
Updated On: Jul 15, 2026
  • USA
  • France
  • Russia
  • Israel
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The Correct Option is D

Approach Solution - 1

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
We need the country India bought its 2016 AWACS surveillance aircraft from.

Step 2: Key Approach:
Focus on which country supplied the core surveillance technology in the deal, not just the base airframe.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
The airframes used were Russian made Ilyushin-76 aircraft, but the radar and detection systems that actually give the aircraft its surveillance capability were supplied by Israel. Neither the USA nor France supplied this particular system to India in 2016.

Step 4: Final Answer:
India purchased the AWACS surveillance system from Israel in 2016.
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Approach Solution -2

What makes an aircraft an AWACS platform is its radar and detection system, not the airframe carrying that system, and keeping that distinction in mind clarifies this question.

  1. USA: No system of this specific kind, radar package included, was supplied to India by the United States in 2016.
  2. France: France's defence cooperation with India covers other equipment, not this AWACS package.
  3. Russia: The Ilyushin-76 body used here is Russian, but a transport aircraft only becomes an AWACS once fitted with a surveillance radar system, and that system did not originate in Russia.
  4. Israel: The radar and surveillance electronics that define this aircraft as an AWACS platform were built and supplied by Israel, making it the true source of the system India acquired.

Since an AWACS aircraft is identified by its detection technology rather than its airframe, Israel is the country that actually supplied this system.

Therefore, the correct answer is Israel.

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