The Ministry of Defence (MoD) on 11 August, gave the go-head to a project to upgrade a part of the fleet of the Israeli Heron unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and weaponise them.
A part of the fleet of drones will be adapted to carry bombs and air-to-ground missiles. The project – code-named Cheetah – had been pending for a long time and now the tri-services decided to revive it. It is likely to cost the exchequer over Rs 3,500 crore.
Under the project, tri-services want to equip their fleet of around 60-90 drones with laser-guided bombs and anti-tank missiles to take out enemy posts and armoured regiments.
The armed forces so far do not have drones which can fire ammunition from the air. However, they do have Harop “kamikaze drones” which are primarily for anti-radiation and electronic warfare tasks but can hover over a target and, on command, self-implode on the target.
Heron Drones of the IAF
The Heron drones with the Indian Air Force and Army have high-resolution surveillance cameras and electronic signal tracking systems, but their operating system will have to be modified for hitting targets. In February this year, drones’ manufacturer Israel Aerospace Industries had announced a strategic partnership with MoD-owned public sector undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Dynamatic Technologies Limited (DTL) to jointly manufacture Heron MK II drones. These are the armed variety.
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