Aviation Research Centre

[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.

[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).

Lakshya is equipped with advanced support system to help it perform tactful aerial exploration in the battlefield, including target acquisition.

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.

[10] 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.

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

"[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.

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.