Unmanned Aerial Systems India 2022 is being organised on 13 Sep 2022 to include the whole range of unmanned, unattended and remotely controlled or autonomous vehicles for military uses. An overview is given below.
Nature of Warfare
Over the past few decades, there have been many prophecies about how drones will transform the nature of warfare and how “drone swarms” could overwhelm enemies in combat. While there is no doubt that unmanned warfare is evolving fast, the “era of the drone” is yet to arrive because countries that use them often do not deploy enough of them, or are afraid to lose them in battle. Despite widespread employment, drones did not stop the Taliban in Afghanistan.
When Russia invaded Ukraine, it put a renewed spotlight on the use of armed drones in conventional wars. The world saw how armed drones might work when both countries have them — and both have air defences that can shoot them down.
Turkish Bayraktar drones showed they can change the “nature of warfare” in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. But contemplating air war based on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict or the Ukraine-Russia war needs closer analysis. In the latter, the success of the Bayraktar was unclear. Even kamikaze drones did not turn the tide in Ukraine. The limits of drone warfare appeared to be on display.
Any air war, more so in the context of the subcontinent, would involve an entire array of aerial operations and combat air support campaigns. To counter drones, the capabilities of the enemy drone assets need evaluation before countering them through anti-drone measures and other means.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
The stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China has accelerated the acquisition of more drones. Impressed with the performance of the two leased Sea Guardian drones, the Navy, Army and the Air Force are considering procurement of combat drones.
Military Applications of UAVs.
Some of the important uses include:
- Information, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance (ISTAR).
- Unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV).
- Radar and Communication Relay.
- Mapping Military Logistics.
- Nuclear Cloud Surveillance.
Armed Drones. ADE has completed the development of the Rustom-2 TAPAS (Tactical Airborne Platform for Aerial Surveillance) MALE UAV (a MQ-1 category drone). Hindustan Aeronautics Limited will soon start the production of first five units of TAPAS drones. The optimally armed drone has already met all its revised qualitative requirements. It can fly at an altitude of 28,000 feet and has an endurance of 18 hours.
In total 76 units of this UAV will be ordered by forces. There will be 60 drones for Indian Army, 12 for the Indian Air Force and 4 for the Indian Navy.
Drone Technology
What information technology was in the 90s, drone technology is today. Technologies that the nation needs to invest in, are:
- Powertrain Technology – Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) Motor.
- Powertrain Technology – Fuel-Run Motor
- Powertrain Technology – Electronics
- Flight Controller
- Battery Technology
- Datalink Technology
- Making Bandwidth Available For Civilian Use
Some emerging technologies have the potential to enhancing effectiveness of drones, viz,
Artificial Intelligence. AI can help machines perceive and learn from Big Data to mimic and improve upon human cognitive functions like learning and problem solving.
Internet of Things (IoT). A network of connected devices, robots and instruments, embedded with sensors can communicate with other objects to exchange data and information over the internet. Drones can act as first responders to an accident site and transmit real-time information to rescue agencies.
Indian Air Force
A Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) is a planned unmanned and manned combat aircraft air teaming system being developed by HAL, which is of interest to the IAF. An armed stealth drone will team up and fight alongside IAF fighters to hit high-value enemy targets. It is designed to carry out MUM-T Operations.
The Unmanned Wingman will be connected to a heavily upgraded IAF Jaguar fighter bomber; pilots onboard which will assign specific tasks to each of the unmanned drones which fly alongside the fighter. The drone will also operate with other platforms.
HAL is designing & developing AI powered, stealthy autonomous swarm drones known as ALFA-S. Sheer numbers of the swarm would overwhelm enemy defences such as surface-to-air missile units to ensure a high probability of mission success. The drones are meant to be launched from any Indian Air Force aircraft – fighter jets and transports.
DRDO is developing the Ghatak which is an UCAV for the IAF. The Aura UCAV will be a tactical stealth aircraft capable of delivering laser-guided strike weapons.
Indian Army
The army’s existing unmanned systems’ fleet comprises Heron medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAVs, and the smaller Searcher Mark II tactical drones.
The Army plans to buy high-tech unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to strengthen its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities and improve the effectiveness of its military operations.
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy currently operates Israeli-origin Heron and Searcher Mk-II UAVs, but neither is shipborne. It also has Sea Guardian drones on lease.
The Indian Navy announced its plans, in June 2022, to acquire 40 Naval Unmanned Aerial Systems (NUAS) for more than 100 meters long warships. The NUAS would be used for surveillance activities, including signals intelligence (SIGINT), target acquisition, surveillance, and maritime domain awareness surrounding a naval task forc as well as Search-and-Rescue (SAR), anti-piracy, and anti-terrorist operations.
The Indian Navy once partially funded a joint effort by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to convert the Chetak helicopter into an autonomous drone platform due to its need for the capabilities over time. The project, named naval rotary UAV (NRUAV), failed due to technological difficulties.
Research & Development
DRDO tested, in early-July 2022, the Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator, which is a major step ahead of developing unmanned aerial combat vehicles (UCAV), primarily for the Indian Air Force. A deck launched version for the Indian Navy is also said to be in the pipeline. The UCAV will be capable of launching missiles and precision-guided munitions.
Countering Drones
Drones are hard to detect, do not have a significant visual, radar, infra-red or noise signature, and require minimal infrastructure to launch and control. Drones are best countered by effective jamming and laser systems.
DRDO’s D-4 anti-drone system can provide both “soft kill” (jamming of hostile drones) and “hard kill” (a laser-based destruction method) options to the military to tackle fast-emerging aerial threats. It has been used for VIP protection on National Days’ events.
Adani Defence & Aerospace has linked with DRDO and Israel’s Elbit Systems to begin deploying counter-UAS equipment in some of the country’s major airports.
UAV Industry
According to the Civil Aviation Minister, by 2026, the Indian drone industry will achieve a turnover of over Rs 15,000 crore. India is home to 270 startups in the drone technologies business. He has stated that the country will be a global leader in drones by 2030.
PLI Scheme. The government announced the Production-Linked Incentive scheme on 16 Sep 2021 which provides for funding 20 per cent of the “value addition” made by the company during the next three years. The value addition is calculated as the annual sales revenue from drones and drone components. 14 drone companies have already been selected as beneficiaries.
Joint Ventures. The first private UAV manufacturing complex has been set up at Adani Aerospace Park in Hyderabad to assemble unmanned aerial platforms including manufacturing of Hermes 900 Unmanned Aerial Platforms and marketing it to international customers.
Training
Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) signed a MoU, in July 2022, with a private drone service provider and training organisation, to set up a ‘Remote Pilot Training Centre’ (RPTC) to teach drone flying to defence/security forces personnel as well as citizens on a private partnership model near Gandhinagar. The RPTC will have DGCA certified drone trainers teaching the trainees regarding quadcopters with strict adherence to certification necessities.
