 |
Heron Drone
|
India has decided in favour of the weaponised MQ-9B Sky Guardian drone from the US and to upgrade its existing Israeli Heron fleet with satellite communication capability in an effort to reinforce its range also as surveillance capabilities within the midst of the Ladakh military standoff with China.
At an equivalent time, the face-off between the Indian Army and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has spurred the Indian private sector and therefore the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to start out manufacturing short-range tactical drones also as anti-drone systems to spice up border defences.
The three services have come to a conclusion that India should choose a weaponised drone instead of the 22 reconnaissance and surveillance Sea Guardian drones approved in 2017 by the US administration for supply to India, consistent with authoritative officialdom with knowledge of the matter.
The MQ-9B, manufactured by General Atomics, features a 40-hour endurance with a maximum altitude of 40,000 feet and payload or weapon carrying capacity of over 2.5 tonne, including air-to-surface missiles and laser-guided bombs. “We are in negotiations with the Trump administration, which is willing to supply India with the newest armed drone technology. In this, it's the prohibitive cost of the system that's a hurdle, not the Trump administration,” said a South Block official who requested anonymity.
Besides, India has asked Israel to upgrade its existing Heron medium-altitude, long-endurance surveillance drone by upgrading its communication links. Presently, thanks to lack of a satellite link within the Heron, two such unmanned aerial drones need to be flown in tandem with a time gap in order that information is relayed back to base through the second drone just in case of long-range surveillance.
The upgrade involves fitting the Heron drone with a satellite package in order that the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) links with the satellite above and knowledge is shipped on a real-time basis. The upgrade will allow the Heron to conduct long-range surveillance without the fear of losing contact with the bottom or enter no contact zone. The Heron upgrade program was approved by the defence ministry last month.
The drone revolution within the Indian military has come after it had been felt that India had no answer to Chinese armed drone and surveillance drone capabilities, with the PLA deploying the unmanned devices in significant capacities within the Ladakh theatre aside from sensors and surveillance cameras that provide advance warning on moves by the adversary.
0 Comments