[2] BFSR has found use in the Indian border areas, especially along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir to prevent infiltration.

[4] In the aftermath of the Kargil War, and with the heightened levels of infiltration, the Indian Army started looking at electronic sensors to augment the surveillance capabilities.

One of the technologies identified was a small, surveillance radar, and the Army projected its requirements to LRDE shortly after.

In the meantime, some Battle Field Surveillance radars (SR) were imported from Israel at a cost of ₹80 crore, pending completion of the project.

[5] The project was a systematic example of concurrent engineering, with the production agency involved through the design and development stage.

[10] The BFSR is a fully coherent Pulse Doppler radar, operating with a 10% duty cycle, and a 5W peak power.

BFSR-SR components include a mounting tripod, an antenna/electronics assembly, two 24 V batteries for power, and an integrated control and display unit (CDU).

The signal processor is a single on-board FPGA-based chip, which has been tailored for very low power consumption.

This provides them better security and safety, and allows for greater flexibility in deploying the radar at suitable spots to meet technical and tactical requirements.

The use of wired interface also provides a better security from interception and lower noise, and does not require the radar and CDU to be within Line-of-Sight of each other.

[10] The BFSR has a COTS- based built in networking and sensor fusion to increase the effectiveness of surveillance.

To aid in sensor fusion, and increase the effectiveness of surveillance, newer variants are also being networked with the Indian Army's Hand-held Thermal Imagers (HHTIs) for visually tracking targets detected by the radar.

The built-in test equipment (BITE) on the BFSR aids in increasing reliability and allowing for easy calibration and fault detection of the radar on the field.

[15] For mobility, better range, and for overcoming obstructions and ground reflection, a vehicle mounted version of BFSR has been developed.

The radar array is mounted on a 6 meter long telescopic mast on a jeep or truck platform.

It can also be used for battlefield surveillance and intelligence gathering by scouts, forward observers and Special Forces units.

It can also be used as a low-cost solution for detection of low flying helicopters and boats by smaller infantry units, enabling in better protection in the absence of larger air-defence radars.

The BFSR has been mainly used by the Indian Army for surveillance of designated areas and borders, for the prevention of infiltration and illegal immigration.

BFSR-SR is currently being used extensively by the Indian Army, which has employed it in the border areas with Pakistan and Bangladesh for surveillance and prevention of infiltration.

[16][17] BEL is heavily promoting the BFSR as a major product to foreign customers in order to improve its international defence presence.