NEW DELHI: The Army is chalking out a long-term roadmap to expand its fleet of heavy-duty drones for ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) as well as precision-strike missions, with their sheer operational utility being reinforced by the Russia-Ukraine and Armenia-Azerbaijan conflicts amid the ongoing shift towards unmanned and autonomous technologies in modern warfare.The force is basically looking at unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and remotely-piloted aircraft (RPA) systems that can operate at ranges beyond 1,000-km for long-range strategic ISR missions, fly at altitudes over 30,000-feet to evade detection, and have an endurance of over 24 hours at a stretch, top sources told TOI on Thursday.As per estimates, China has well over 2,000 top-notch UAVs, which includes combat drones like the Cai Hong-4, CH-5, CH-7, Wing Loong-II and the stealthy Hongdu GJ-11 `Sharp Sword’.China is also the world’s largest exporter of military UAVs, and has stepped up supply of the armed CH-4 and Wing Loong-II drones to Pakistan, which in turn has around 150-200 drones, including the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 and Akinci drones.The Indian Army, in contrast, has only around 50 Israeli-origin Heron Mark-I and Mark-II as well as Searcher-II medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drones. Amid the military standoff with China, the force inducted four new satcom-enabled Heron Mark-II drones to boost surveillance along the Line of Actual Control.While the Army Aviation Corps operates these fighter-size UAVs for surveillance and precision-targeting, infantry battalions use a wide array of smaller drones for tactical reconnaissance, logistics and other tasks.While IAF and Navy have their own UAV fleets, there is an overall requirement of at least 150 new MALE drones for the three Services. Towards this end, the Army is focusing on indigenous development of MALE drones by DRDO as well as private sector companies, including through collaboration with friendly countries.DRDO has developed the Rustom series of UAVs, including the Tapas-BH-201 drone but it failed to fully meet operational military requirements, as was first reported by TOI. “Efforts are now underway to enhance the capabilities of Tapas,” a source said.The first flight of Archer-NG, a weaponised MALE drone developed by DRDO, in turn, is expected soon. With a maximum altitude of 30,000-feet, the UAV can carry 300 kg of payload, including anti-tank guided missiles and smart anti-airfield weapons. “With a 1,000-km range, Archer-NG is designed for ISR missions, target acquisition and precision-strikes,” he added.In the arena of the much more capable high-altitude, long endurance (HALE) drones, the armed forces of course will get 31 armed MQ-9B `Predators’ under the Rs 32,350 crore contract inked with the US last Oct. The delivery of these drones, armed with Hellfire missiles, GBU-39B precision-guided glide bombs and other weapons, will begin in 2029.“The Army also needs advanced MALE drones because of the two long `active’ borders with China and Pakistan, both of which require continuous real-time intelligence-gathering and monitoring,” another source said.“UAVs and RPA systems reduce risk to soldiers, allow longer operational endurance and provide precision-strike capabilities. They also enhance counter-terrorism operations by tracking cross-border infiltrations and carrying out strikes on terrorist hideouts,” he added.
Army gearing up to induct more heavy-duty drones | India News
