Indian Army Wants To Make Its Own Surveillance Drones For The Northern Border

Given how dangerous things are along the northern borders, the Army is looking for surveillance drones that can be made in the country. Drones are being bought quickly to meet a wide range of needs for unmanned aerial vehicles.

Tuesday, the Army put out bids for 750 unmanned aerial vehicles that will be used by special forces to keep an eye on a 5-kilometer area. The aerial vehicles should be able to be driven in any weather and from inside as well. The tender said that the systems must be made with at least 50% local materials and must be delivered in a year.

The new purchases will replace the mini-drones made in China that have been used by the military since there was no equipment made in the country.

“Due to the unstable situation along the northern borders, operational equipment needs to be bought quickly…

This equipment will be used to keep track of the situation, do short-range surveillance, scan the target area, and make a 3D image of the target before going into the target area “what the bid said.

The systems will allow special forces to “execute pin-point precision strikes during direct action tasks like raids, killing high-value targets, command and control elements, and even enemy leadership.”

Several private companies in India have been making drones for the military, and the tender is likely to speed up the production of thousands of these systems, which are needed for troops stationed along borders and for fighting insurgencies.

The armed forces are getting more and more drones through the emergency route. This latest need adds to the list. The emergency powers were given by the defence ministry in August. They allow the forces to quickly buy systems worth up to 300 crore per project and get them in less than a year.

In addition to needing drones for special forces, the Army also wants drones that can carry supplies and spare parts to troops at hard-to-reach border posts. 200 drones will be used in areas with a medium altitude, and 163 will be used in areas with a high altitude.

Also, the infantry needs 1,000 surveillance helicopters, and the artillery needs 80 drones with control and communication gear. The Army is also likely to soon put out a request for a variety of loitering munitions, which can hit enemy targets with high accuracy even when they are out of the range of artillery guns on the border.