Aviation Research Centre

Aviation Research Centre

Agency overview
Formed	7 September 1963 (7 September 1963)
Employees	Classified
Annual budget	Classified
Agency executive	Special Secretary
Parent department	Cabinet Secretariat
Parent agency	Directorate General of Security

The Aviation Research Centre (ARC) is India's imagery intelligence organisation, a part of the Directorate General of Security, run by the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).^[1] It started functioning in November 1962, in the wake of the Sino-Indian War, as an extension of the Intelligence Bureau, but placed under the Ministry of External Affairs.

It was formally created on 7 September 1963, with R. N. Kao as Director and Acting Group Captain^[2] Lal Singh Grewal (later, Vice Chief of Indian Air Force) as Operations Manager at Charbatia air base (code named Oak Tree 1).^[3] It was later moved to the Prime Minister's Secretariat, and in February 1965, along with Special Frontier Force and Special Service Bureau (now Sashastra Seema Bal), was brought under the Directorate General of Security in the Cabinet Secretariat (this organisation was created in late 1964 with B. N. Mullick as DG, Security;^[4] the post was later shifted to the chief of R&AW upon its constitution in 1968).

One of its most influential Directors was Prof H.B. Mohanti. ARC was initially a temporary and ad hoc organisation, but was made permanent in 1971.^[5] Over the years, ARC had grown into a large operation and flies a large and varied fleet that until recently included the high-flying Mach 3 capable Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25.

Inventory

The ARC began operations in 1962 with a Helio Twin Courier loaned from the USAF.^[1] ARC operated fixed-wing transport aircraft like Russian IL-76s and AN-32s. It also had General Dynamics Gulfstream III and Global 5000 jets. The helicopter inventory comprises Russian Mil Mi-17s and a mix of locally built Cheetahs (modified French Alouette IIs) and Chetaks (Alouette IIIs). The MIG-25 (also christened as Foxbat by NATO) was used for high altitude reconnaissance until being decommissioned in 2006. ARC was also believed to be the first department to induct the indigenously built 'Pilotless Target Aircraft' (PTA) Lakshya.

Lakshya is equipped with advanced support system to help it perform tactful aerial exploration in the battlefield, including target acquisition. The 6-foot-long (1.8 m) Lakshya is fitted with a digitally controlled engine that can be operated from the ground using a remote. Lakshya had been designed by Aeronautical Development Establishment, Bangalore. Lakshya is a surface/ship launched high subsonic reusable aerial target system, remotely piloted from ground. It provides training to the gun and missile crew and to air defence pilots for weapon engagement.

As of 2024, ARC operates the Special Mission Aircraft fleet of the Indian Air Force like Boeing 707-337C Phalcon, Global 5000 and Gulfstream III.^[6][7]

Bases

According to a report from Globalsecurity.org, R&AW Aviation Research Centre operated bases at Charbatia Air Base in Choudwar, Cuttack district (largest base); Sarsawa Air Base^[1] near Saharanpur on the Uttar Pradesh-Haryana border; Dum Duma Air Base near Tinsukia in Assam; Palam Air Base in Delhi; and the Farkhor Air Base, the only Indian military airbase situated in a foreign country, at Farkhor/Ayni in Tajikistan.^[8][9]

In 2018 the Duma Duma Air Base was identified as one of 15 disused airfields that could be transferred to other public agencies. At the time it was being looked after by the Defense Estate Organization.^[10]

Function

An armoured personnel carrier (BMP) being loaded on an IL-76 at Ladakh

Cameras of MiG-25RB for aerial surveillance

Aerial surveillance, SIGINT operations, photo reconnaissance flights (PHOTINT),^[11] monitoring of borders, imagery intelligence (IMINT)^[12] were the main functions of the Aviation Research Centre (ARC).

The aircraft were fitted with state-of-the-art electronic surveillance equipment and long range cameras capable of taking pictures of targets from very high altitudes. ARC also took the responsibility along with the IAF to transport Special Frontier Force (SFF) commandos from their trans-location at Sarsawa, 250 km north of New Delhi, though the SFF's own base is in Chakrata in Uttarakhand.

Project 596

Main article: Project 596

The United States supplied surveillance equipment to Aviation Research Centre to spy on China's nuclear programme and naval assets from 1962.^[13]

Kargil War

In 1999 during the Kargil War, after the Pakistani intrusion was detected, ARC was tasked to check if the Pakistanis had indeed crossed the Line of Control to the Indian side and violated the border agreement.^[14] A number of missions were flown by the ARC on request from the Indian Army and the PMO.

Senior officials of the Indian armed forces including the Chief of Air Staff and Chief of Army staff highly commended the work done by ARC, quoting "The electronic and optical information provided by the ARC before and during the actual operations was of immense value to the conduct of air strikes."^[15] Also the K. Subrahmanyam committee report into the Kargil war observed that "No intelligence failures had been attributed on account of functioning of RAW and ARC. However, certain equipment inadequacies were highlighted such as satellite imagery and UAVs".^[15]

Proposal of dissolution

In 2012, the Naresh Chandra Committee on national security recommended merger of ARC with R&AW, in view of ARC's turf wars with NTRO and DIA.^[16] As a part of larger reforms, backed by NSA Ajit Doval, Aviation Research Centre (ARC) was proposed to be shut down in 2015^[17][18] and ARC's assets were to be divided between the National Technical Research Organisation and the Indian Air Force.

However, it was not carried out and the agency continues to exist.^{[19][20][21][22][23][24]}

Current status

Previously, ARC was part of the Directorate General of Security, along with three other organisations, viz., Special Service Bureau, Special Frontier Force and Chief Inspectorate of Armaments.^[25] Whereas R&AW is a wing of the Cabinet Secretariat, with secretariat-style rank structure at Headquarters (Secretary, Special Secretary, Additional Secretary etc.), DGS was an attached office.^[26] Secretary, R&AW, held, ex-officio, the post of Director General of Security.^{[note 1]} Below him was the Principal Director, of Special DG or Special Secretary rank. SSB and ARC had their respective Directors (Additional DG or Additional Secretary rank), SFF had an Inspector General (Major General rank) and CIOA had a Chief Inspector (Lieutenant Colonel rank). In January 2001, DGS was split and SSB and CIOA were shifted to the Ministry of Home Affairs. The post of Principal Director, DGS, was also moved alongside as Director General, SSB. Thereafter, the post of Director, ARC was upgraded as Special Secretary, ARC^{[note 2]} and Head of department, SFF,^[34] but he continued to report to DG (Security) (except in case of Arvind Saxena, who reported to the NSA).

Subsequently, in 2021, ARC was removed as a separate organisation from the second schedule of the Right to Information Act and included with R&AW as its technical wing.^[35]

See also

• Research and Analysis Wing
• Farkhor Air Base
• Indian Air Force
• National Technical Research Organisation
• List of Indian Intelligence agencies
• Intelligence Bureau (India)

Notes

1. It is not always so. When S. E. Joshi became Secretary, R&AW in 1986, he superseded R. T. Nagrani, Principal Director, DGS, who was close to retirement. So Nagrani was made DG (Security). After Nagrani's retirement, the post came back to the R&AW chief.^[27] Again, when Rajinder Khanna became Secretary, R&AW in December 2014, his batchmate, Arvind Saxena was laterally shifted as Special Secretary, ARC. The post of DG (Security) was kept vacant and Saxena was put under the NSA.^[28] Khanna was made DG (Security) in May 2015^[29] and Saxena became Member, UPSC.
2. Ravinder Singh "Billy" Bedi, a former Army officer and Vir Chakra awardee in 1965^[30] and later a RAS officer of 1966 batch, headed ARC from 1997 to 2003,^[31] first as Director and then as Special Secretary. He got superseded as Secretary, R&AW by Chandra Dev Sahay, an IPS (later RAS) officer of 1967 batch^[32] and moved out, to become the founder chairman of NTRO.^[33]

References

1. "RAW to shut down its covert air wing, assets will go to NTRO and IAF". Indian Express. 18 September 2015.
2. Service Record for Air Marshal Lal Singh Grewal, Bharat Rakshak
3. The CIA's Secret War in Tibet, Chapter 14 (Oak Tree), by Kenneth Conboy and James Morrison, University Press of Kansas, excerpted in The Grasshoppers Must Return, U.S. Army Aviation Digest, 31 January 2009
4. The Legacy of DIBs, extract from India: The Crucial Years, T. V. Rajeswar
5. Court case involving ARC in Supreme Court of India, 1981
6. "Special Mission Aircraft are cheaper to operate than older intelligence gathering assets". Retrieved 31 August 2024.
7. Philip, Snehesh Alex (14 May 2020). "India's oldest flying aircraft in spotlight after radar website shows it going to Pakistan". ThePrint. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
8. Asia Times Online :: South Asia news - India's foray into Central Asia
9. Dum Duma Air Station
10. Ray, Kalyan (3 April 2018). "IAF to surrender 15 disused airfields". Deccan Herald.
11. NSNL 52 - Intelligence profile : India
12. "CIAO".
13. Swami, Praveen (6 November 2021). "Will India Be Joining The World's Most Exclusive Intelligence Club?". Moneycontrol. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
14. "Air Marshal Ashok K Goel (Retd.) PVSM, AVSM, VM: Secrets of RAW". 24 May 2010.
15. Air Marshal Ashok Goel's blog post-Secrets of RAW
16. Panel suggests merging Aviation Research Centre with RAW, The Times of India, 11 July 2012
17. "RAW to shut down its covert air wing, assets will go to NTRO and IAF". Indian Express. 18 September 2015.
18. "R&AW to close Aviation Research Centre". Odisha TV. 20 September 2015.
19. Recruitment notice of ARC in 2018
20. Court case involving ARC in CAT, Cuttack, 2019
21. Court case involving ARC in Central Information Commission, 2020
22. Court case involving ARC in Central Information Commission, 2020
23. Court case involving ARC in CAT, Cuttack, 2021
24. ARC recruitment notice, July 2021
25. Court case in Supreme Court of India, 2010
26. see definition on page 4, Central Secretariat Manual of Office Procedure, 14th Ed., 2015
27. C. K. Kutty, A RAW Hand
28. Arvind Saxena appointed Director, ARC, Indian Mandarins, 21 December 2014
29. RAW chief Rajinder Khanna to hold charge of DG Security, The Economic Times, 21 May 2015
30. Vir Chakra citation, 1965
31. NTRO: India’s Technical Intelligence Agency, R. S. Bedi VrC, Indian Defence Review, January–March 2008
32. Alumni list of 1967 batch IPS, SVP National Police Academy
33. New R&AW chief is first to be trained in Israel, Sheela Bhatt, Rediff News, 2 April 2003
34. Court case in CAT Delhi, 2010
35. Gazette of India notification

External links

• Official website of The Indian Air Force
• Indian Air Force on bharat-rakshak.com
• ARC's early days