The IL-38s formally entered service with the Indian Navy on 01 October 1977, with the commissioning of INAS 315 Winged Stallions at INS Hansa in Dabolim, Goa. The squadron was formed with just three aircraft in 1977 and two more examples joined the squadron in 1983. The first three aircraft were from ex-AV-MF (Russia's Naval Air Force) stocks and latter two aircraft could also have been acquired from the same source, but that is yet to be confirmed beyond reliable doubt.
The IL-38s regularly flew 10 - 12 hour endurance sorties over the Arabian Sea and proved to be reliable in the roles of maritime reconnaissance (MR), anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and search & rescue (SAR). A tragic mid-air crash occurred on 01 October 2002, during the squadron's silver jubilee celebrations.
A pair of IL-38s (IN-302 and IN-304), which were flying parallel to each other, clashed and suffered a mid-air collision above the airport. All aircrew aboard both aircraft were killed and both aircraft were also destroyed.
The Indian Navy launched an upgrade program to extend the life of the IL-38 maritime patrol aircraft and a contract was signed in September 2002 to refit five aircraft. Leninets Institute of Russia was given the task of fitting the Morskoy Zmei (Sea Dragon) multi-mission avionics & electronic warfare suite and Ilyushin will first check & upgrade the airframes and the engines prior to fitting the Sea Dragon system, designed by Leninets. The upgraded aircraft go by the designation IL-38SD. Due to the loss of two aircraft, Russia has donated two additional aircraft free of charge from ex-AV-MF (Russia's Naval Air Force) stocks.
The fully digital Sea Dragon suite is designed to detect & intercept surface vessels and submarines within a range of 150 km, as well as detect mines and carry out surveillance. The suite can also detect airborne targets and can be linked to the Russian Glonass satellite navigation system. It encompasses a new synthetic-aperture/inverse-synthetic-aperture radar located in a canoe fairing on the belly, a high-resolution FLIR (forward-looking infra-red) sensor, a LLTV (low-light television) camera, a new ESM (electronic-support-measures) system and a new MAD (magnetic anomaly detector) system in the aft section of the aircraft.
The IL-38s will also be fitted with radio-frequency and infrared sensors, as well as decoys. This modernization will allow the aircraft to remain operational for a further 15 years. These aircraft are expected to be flown from India to St. Petersburg, Russia where the refits are expected to take place. The addition of the Russian R-73RDM2 (AA-11 Archer) short-range air-to-air missile is also being contemplated. The first IL-38SD (IN-305) flew to Russia for the upgrade in March 2002 and was scheduled to be delivered to the Indian Navy in early 2004. There have been no reports indicating that this has taken place.
The IL-38 has a search & attack radar (NATO: Wet Eye), a MAD (magnetic anomaly detector) system, an ESM (electronic support measures) system and numerous active & passive sonobuoys.
The IL-38 can carry torpedoes, FAB 250 freefall bombs and depth charges. The aircraft has been retrofitted to carry the Sea Eagle AShM.
With the inevitable increase in MP demands, the Indian Navy began hunting for a third MPA type in the mid-90s. The Lockheed P-3C Orion, was brought to attention and deemed ideal, although sanctions and export restrictions would prevent their purchase, post 1998 nuclear tests at Pokhran. After the sanctions were lifted in September 2001, negotiations for the P-3C came back into the spotlight and the Navy officially listed out it's requirement for 8 to10 new MPAs. Lockheed Martin, hopeful of bagging a USD $1 billion deal, deputed a team to India in the June 2003, to discuss the details. On 27 May 2004, an American delegation, led by Ed Ross, director for South Asia for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, held talks in New Delhi with Indian defense officials and mentioned the possibility of a deal by the end of the year. Despite the keenness of the involved parties and exports of American Arms worth $200 million to India in the recent years, the US Government has not cleared the sale of the aircraft to India. In addition, the Navy remains skeptical and suspicious of deals with American companies, after the outcomes of the post-1998 sanctions, including the grounding of the entire Sea king fleet due to export restrictions on US sourced spares. Irrespective of the possible purchase of newer aircraft, the Il-38SD will continue to serve with the Indian Navy until 2020.
All five Il-38s of the IN, including the two attrition replacements (one of which was reportedly already delivered by September 2003) are to be upgraded to Il-38SD standard. The new "Sea Dragon" (Morskoi Zmei) radar is capable of detecting surface warships at over 320 km, aircraft at 90-100 km and a track-while-scan of 32 targets while the gyro stabilized optronics turret is mounted under the nose and provides for secondary surveillance. In contrast, the Elta EL/M-2022A (V)3 radar adopted instead for the Tu-142M, has an advertised surveillance range of over 400 km against large surface warships, and a 100 target track-while-scan capability. The second Il-38 is said to have arrived for the upgrade, which will last 10 months at St.Petersburg, in Dec. 2003 while the first was scheduled to be delivered back by early 2004. The distinctive "radio reconnaissance" antenna tower of the Morskoi Zmei search-targeting system is quite a unique feature.
India IL-38
Operational Speed: 347 knots (645 km/h)
Service Ceiling: 32,800 ft. (10,000 meters)
Range: 3887 nautical miles (7200 km).