India is already operating a total of 176 Israel-made drones including 108 IAI Searchers and 68 unarmed Heron-1 aircraft for surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The IAF also fields a fleet of IAI Harpy drones. Between 1985 and 2014, India was the top importer of UAVs worldwide.
The Indian Army requires medium altitude UAVs operating to a ceiling of 20,000 to 30,000 feet. The payload would preferably be EO/IR, SAR and ESM.
The Army requires mini-UAVs with weight up to 10kgs, range 10 to 30 kms, payload – high resolution gimbaled day & night sensors, endurance up to 2 hours. At the brigade level, commanders would like to have UAVs to add exponentially to the information which can be gathered in real time. At the Division level, UAVs should provide coverage up to 200 kms.
UAVs are sought to be deployed in counter-insurgency/terrorism operations to take out targets outside of Indian territory deemed too risky for manned aircraft.
