509:, the post of Director General of Security. 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 and Head of department, SFF, but he continued to report to DG (Security) (except in case of
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352:
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337:
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Ravinder Singh "Billy" Bedi, a former Army officer and Vir Chakra awardee in 1965 and later a RAS officer of 1966 batch, headed ARC from 1997 to 2003, 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 He got superseded as Secretary, R&AW by Chandra Dev Sahay, an IPS (later RAS) officer of 1967
228:
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
589:
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Secretary, R&AW in 1986, he superseded R. T. Nagrani, Principal Director, DGS, who was close to retirement.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. Again, when
444:
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." Also the
135:
as
Director and Acting Group Captain Lal Singh Grewal (later, Vice Chief of Indian Air Force) as Operations Manager at Charbatia air base (code named Oak Tree 1). It was later moved to the Prime Minister's Secretariat, and in February 1965, along with
449:
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".
432:
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. A number of missions were flown by the ARC on request from the
836:
500:
and Chief
Inspectorate of Armaments. 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
381:
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
237:. 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.
327:
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.
598:
was laterally shifted as
Special Secretary, ARC. The post of DG (Security) was kept vacant and Saxena was put under the NSA. Khanna was made DG (Security) in May 2015 and Saxena became Member, UPSC.
155:
organisation, but was made permanent in 1971. 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
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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.
221:) 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
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The United States supplied surveillance equipment to
Aviation Research Centre to spy on China's nuclear programme and naval assets from 1962.
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Committee on national security recommended merger of ARC with R&AW, in view of ARC's turf wars with NTRO and
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671:, Chapter 14 (Oak Tree), by Kenneth Conboy and James Morrison, University Press of Kansas, excerpted in
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Previously, ARC was part of the
Directorate General of Security, along with three other organisations,
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as DG, Security; the post was later shifted to the chief of R&AW upon its constitution in 1968).
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One of its most influential Directors was Prof H.B. Mohanti. ARC was initially a temporary and
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737:"India's oldest flying aircraft in spotlight after radar website shows it going to Pakistan"
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715:"Special Mission Aircraft are cheaper to operate than older intelligence gathering assets"
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As of 2024, ARC operates the Special Mission Aircraft fleet of the Indian Air Force like
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Asia Times Online :: South Asia news - India's foray into Central Asia
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378:(IMINT) were the main functions of the Aviation Research Centre (ARC).
120:(R&AW). It started functioning in November 1962, in the wake of the
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903:"RAW to shut down its covert air wing, assets will go to NTRO and IAF"
635:"RAW to shut down its covert air wing, assets will go to NTRO and IAF"
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829:"Will India Be Joining The World's Most Exclusive Intelligence Club?"
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However, it was not carried out and the agency continues to exist.
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859:"Air Marshal Ashok K Goel (Retd.) PVSM, AVSM, VM: Secrets of RAW"
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Court case involving ARC in Central Information Commission, 2020
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Court case involving ARC in Central Information Commission, 2020
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batch and moved out, to become the founder chairman of NTRO.
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became Secretary, R&AW in December 2014, his batchmate,
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from their trans-location at Sarsawa, 250 km north of
336:
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172:
175:. ARC operated fixed-wing transport aircraft like Russian
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Panel suggests merging Aviation Research Centre with RAW
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Court case involving ARC in Supreme Court of India, 1981
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RAW chief Rajinder Khanna to hold charge of DG Security
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An armoured personnel carrier (BMP) being loaded on an
128:, but placed under the Ministry of External Affairs.
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and a mix of locally built Cheetahs (modified French
527:
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New R&AW chief is first to be trained in Israel
131:It was formally created on 7 September 1963, with
875:Air Marshal Ashok Goel's blog post-Secrets of RAW
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1395:Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation
654:Service Record for Air Marshal Lal Singh Grewal
260:According to a report from Globalsecurity.org,
1014:Central Secretariat Manual of Office Procedure
980:Court case involving ARC in CAT, Cuttack, 2021
947:Court case involving ARC in CAT, Cuttack, 2019
1181:
1421:Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)
923:"R&AW to close Aviation Research Centre"
675:, U.S. Army Aviation Digest, 31 January 2009
1400:Directorate General of Economic Enforcement
1081:NTRO: India’s Technical Intelligence Agency
802:NSNL 52 - Intelligence profile : India
264:Aviation Research Centre operated bases at
1472:Government agencies disestablished in 2015
1362:Information Management and Analysis Centre
1188:
1174:
1002:Court case in Supreme Court of India, 2010
453:
374:flights (PHOTINT), monitoring of borders,
16:Imagery intelligence organisation of India
466:. As a part of larger reforms, backed by
223:'Pilotless Target Aircraft' (PTA) Lakshya
1233:National Technical Research Organisation
1151:Official website of The Indian Air Force
561:National Technical Research Organisation
475:National Technical Research Organisation
350:
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167:The ARC began operations in 1962 with a
1467:Government agencies established in 1962
785:"IAF to surrender 15 disused airfields"
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1156:Indian Air Force on bharat-rakshak.com
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231:Aeronautical Development Establishment
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1038:Arvind Saxena appointed Director, ARC
826:
629:
627:
625:
1385:Central Economic Intelligence Bureau
1350:Image Processing and Analysis Centre
1336:Directorate of Military Intelligence
839:from the original on 6 November 2021
735:Philip, Snehesh Alex (14 May 2020).
566:List of Indian Intelligence agencies
1390:Directorate of Revenue Intelligence
1353:Directorate of Signals Intelligence
782:
13:
1313:Electronics and Technical Services
1275:All India Radio Monitoring Service
827:Swami, Praveen (6 November 2021).
622:
398:, though the SFF's own base is in
14:
1483:
1341:Directorate of Naval Intelligence
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991:ARC recruitment notice, July 2021
936:Recruitment notice of ARC in 2018
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140:and Special Service Bureau (now
1462:2015 disestablishments in India
1346:Directorate of Air Intelligence
1265:Central Bureau of Investigation
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925:. Odisha TV. 20 September 2015.
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183:. It also had General Dynamics
114:Directorate General of Security
93:Directorate General of Security
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1380:Economic Intelligence Council
1270:National Investigation Agency
1136:Gazette of India notification
1125:Court case in CAT Delhi, 2010
1099:, SVP National Police Academy
1097:Alumni list of 1967 batch IPS
669:The CIA's Secret War in Tibet
615:
505:. Secretary, R&AW, held,
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1457:1962 establishments in India
1442:Indian intelligence agencies
1229:Joint Intelligence Committee
1204:Indian Intelligence Agencies
783:Ray, Kalyan (3 April 2018).
673:The Grasshoppers Must Return
195:inventory comprises Russian
162:
112:organisation, a part of the
7:
1331:Defence Intelligence Agency
571:Intelligence Bureau (India)
523:
331:
10:
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1452:Research and Analysis Wing
1409:Intelligence Co-ordination
1298:Research and Analysis Wing
1012:see definition on page 4,
546:Research and Analysis Wing
496:, Special Service Bureau,
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118:Research and Analysis Wing
1416:Multi Agency Centre (MAC)
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1370:
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1288:
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1225:National Security Advisor
1220:National Security Council
1212:National Security Council
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1070:Vir Chakra citation, 1965
272:district (largest base);
124:, as an extension of the
88:
78:
64:
54:
44:
29:
24:
1303:Aviation Research Centre
1280:Narcotics Control Bureau
691:India: The Crucial Years
576:
440:Senior officials of the
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102:Aviation Research Centre
20:Aviation Research Centre
1447:Information sensitivity
454:Proposal of dissolution
359:for aerial surveillance
157:Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25
513:, who reported to the
498:Special Frontier Force
388:Special Frontier Force
360:
348:
138:Special Frontier Force
1372:Economic intelligence
1308:Radio Research Centre
1290:External intelligence
1085:Indian Defence Review
354:
339:
1323:Defence intelligence
1087:, January–March 2008
911:. 18 September 2015.
772:Dum Duma Air Station
643:. 18 September 2015.
376:imagery intelligence
372:photo reconnaissance
211:(also christened as
110:imagery intelligence
1357:Joint Cipher Bureau
1260:Intelligence Bureau
442:Indian armed forces
424:In 1999 during the
364:Aerial surveillance
142:Sashastra Seema Bal
126:Intelligence Bureau
83:Cabinet Secretariat
21:
1083:, R. S. Bedi VrC,
1058:The Economic Times
1044:, 21 December 2014
890:The Times of India
686:The Legacy of DIBs
361:
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266:Charbatia Air Base
169:Helio Twin Courier
19:
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1252:Internal security
290:Dum Duma Air Base
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79:Parent department
71:Special Secretary
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1161:ARC's early days
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1111:, Sheela Bhatt,
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1042:Indian Mandarins
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1016:, 14th Ed., 2015
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556:Indian Air Force
551:Farkhor Air Base
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479:Indian Air Force
402:in Uttarakhand.
310:Farkhor Air Base
274:Sarsawa Air Base
171:loaned from the
65:Agency executive
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37:7 September 1963
33:7 September 1963
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244:-337C Phalcon,
203:) and Chetaks (
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122:Sino-Indian War
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25:Agency overview
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