00:00AVAX looks formidable, doesn't it?
00:03But what exactly is this mysterious plane with this rather odd appendage at the top?
00:10AVAX is a term that often comes up during aerial combat, like the one we saw between
00:14Indian and Pakistani Air Forces in 2019, the day after the Balakot airstrike.
00:19It stands for Airborne Warning and Control System.
00:22But here's the thing, while AVAX is the term popularly used,
00:26it is actually a subtype of a broader air combat tech category known as AEWCS,
00:31or Airborne Early Warning and Control System.
00:34It's kind of like seeing Xerox for photocopying.
00:37So what exactly are AEWCS?
00:40Well, the name, Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems gives it away.
00:44Known as eyes in the skies, AEWCS aircraft are fitted with a radar,
00:48that's the object you see on the roof of the plane, and high-tech communication equipment
00:53to function as sort of a flying command and control center.
00:56It's what would happen if an air traffic control center and a radar station were to take to the skies.
01:01Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems have a two-fold role.
01:04One, to scan the skies around it for threats and enemy aircraft.
01:08And two, to guide your own fighter or other planes,
01:11while coordinating between the sky and the ground.
01:14In the live combat situation, for example, the post-Balakot air skirmish between India and Pakistan,
01:18AEWCS would play a role by helping spot Pakistani fighter jets
01:23and passing on key information to Indian fighters in order to help them intercept the enemy.
01:28Truly an eye in the sky.
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