6 months ago
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To heighten their unmanned capabilities successful the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, the Indian equipped forces person signed up for much satellite-linked Heron Mk II Unmanned Aerial Vehicles nether exigency procurement, sources successful the Israeli defence manufacture said.
According to the sources, the Army and Air Force, which already run Heron Mk II drones, person placed further orders portion the Indian Navy is acquiring them for the archetypal time. The Navy, which has agelong relied connected Israeli-made Searcher UAVs for surveillance, volition soon modulation to the much precocious Heron Mk II platform.
As per existing guidelines, nether exigency procurement, equipped forces tin procure weapons systems, including full systems, worthy up to ₹300 crore.
A elder Israel defence manufacture official, who was alert of the development, informed that UAVs person go cardinal to modern warfare, with astir 70% of battlefield operations conducted by drones crossed the spectrum, from frontline reconnaissance to deep-penetration missions. They play a decisive relation against aerial defence systems, enabling detection, tracking and neutralisation of high-value threats.
The Heron family, particularly the Heron Mk II, has emerged arsenic a cardinal constituent of this evolving combat situation owed to its versatility and proven reliability. Indian Army has deployed these drones astatine guardant bases successful bluish sector.
The Heron Mk II is simply a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAV susceptible of carrying adjacent to fractional a tonne of payload and sustaining much than 24 hours of continuous flight. Equipped with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), electro-optical systems, and SIGINT sensors, the level provides broad ISR capabilities adjacent successful challenging upwind conditions. Its afloat automated take-off and landing systems, coupled with encrypted outer communication, alteration distant operations, flexible ngo readying and deployment crossed varied theatres without ground-based line-of-sight control.
In enactment with India’s propulsion for defence indigenisation, respective Israel defence industries including state-owned defence manufacturers are moving with defence PSUs and backstage partners to heighten section production. The companies are besides creating training, attraction and integration capabilities wrong India, the authoritative said.
Israeli manufacturers are actively preparing for aboriginal Indian tenders nether the “Make successful India” model and exploring deeper partnerships to conscionable compliance requirements.
In September this year, Ministry of Defence issued Request for Proposal (RFP) for large acquisition of 87 MALE drones, with a absorption connected an indigenous “Make successful India” programme that besides allows overseas partnerships.
