The Army is looking to create a separate cadre for operating its Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), said Lt. Gen. A.K. Suri, Director General of Army Aviation on Tuesday while a senior Indian Air Force (IAF) officer said that a proposal to develop an indigenous Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) has been taken up.
“This cadre will be of operators in terms of piloting and will reduce the load on helicopter pilots,” Lt. Gen. Suri said speaking at a seminar on UAVs organised by the Centre for Air Power Studies and Indian Military Review. Stating that Indian Army has been using UAVs for the last two decades, he said they have primarily used them in the northern and western borders. A major part of the surveillance is carried out by them, he added.
The proposal is currently with the Army headquarters and once cleared, will be sent to the Defence Ministry for approval, officials said on its status. A similar proposal for a separate UAV cadre by the IAF has been long pending with the Defence Ministry for approval.
In August 2021, Army Aviation got control of the UAVs of the Army which were earlier under Artillery. The Army operates over 30 Heron UAVs procured from Israel.
Speaking at the seminar, Air Marshal Radhakrishnan Radhish, Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at Western Air Command, said the IAF has a road map for induction of more capable medium-altitude long-endurance UAVs as well as high-altitude long-endurance UAVs. IAF is joining an indigenous effort to develop a UCAV and Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) has been sanctioned to develop the niche technologies, he stated.
The Bengaluru-based ADE is under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Stating that the “unmanned market” is expected to see a significant growth in India, Air Marshal Radhish added that by 2026 it is anticipated to be the world’s third largest market.
