The ministry of defence has initiated the process of acquisition of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from primitive sources, as it speculate increasing connotation for both warfare as well as surveillance aspects.
By Baishakhi Dutta
The Defence Ministry wants a common Medium Altitude, Long Endurance (MALE) platform that can be used by all three services Army, Navy and Air Force.
The services need 150 new MALE UAVs which will be developed and manufactured by the Indian industry based on proven technologies where fundamental research is not required.
The key features required for the proposed UAVs consists of low radar, thermal and acoustics signature, capability to operate between minus 40 to 55 degrees Celsius, altitude ceiling above 30,000 feet with more than 25 hours of endurance, a satellite-based navigational system, automatic take off and landing capability and an automatic identification system to identify merchant ships along with its cargo.
In the year 2000, UAV was first initiated by the Indian Armed Force and since then more than 200 such systems are in service.
These are primarily Israeli-made Heron and Searcher UAVs along with a handful of DRDO-made Nishant UAVs. Panchi, an upgraded version of Nishant and an armed drone, namely Rustom are being gauged by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
According to reports,India is procuring the armed version of Heron from Israel.
