CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -India on Sunday handed over a coastal radar system to the Maldives that will play a key role in enhancing regional security as the two countries launched several development projects being implemented under an aid package worth more than $2.6 billion.

Detailed explanation-2: -The correct answer is Maldives. India on 27 March 2022 handed over a coastal radar system to the Maldives. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar handed over the upgraded coastal radar system to the commander of the Maldives National Defence Force, Maj Gen Abdulla Shamaal.

Detailed explanation-3: -Locations. There were 46 operational coastal surveillance radars in India as of December 2016. A further 38 radars are being built and is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. There are also a total of 32 coastal surveillance radars across the Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles and Sri Lanka.

Detailed explanation-4: -“Post implementation of Phase-I and Phase-II of the chain of Static Sensors, the Indian coastline will be under the surveillance of 104 radar stations being one of the largest of such network, ” the Defence Ministry said in its annual report.

Detailed explanation-5: -The radar is designed according to IALA specifications with instrumented range of 50 Km. The radar detection range for small county boats (RCS 1sqm) are up to 20 km. Radar has been successfully evaluated as a part of “Proof-of-Concept” trials of ICSS and recommended for transfer-of-technology (ToT).