A proposal to manufacture Heron Mk2 in India under license is also being discussed, Janes learned during Defexpo 2022 held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, from October 18 to 22.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Army (IA) ordered 10 Heron Mk2 drones from IAI in early 2021 under emergency procurement power granted to the armed forces following the PLA’s incursion across the LAC into India-claimed territory starting February 2020.

The initial plan was reported to lease the drones for three years, but later a decision was taken to purchase them outright.

Heron Mk2

Heron Mk2 is an upgraded variant of the Heron drones already in service with the IA & the IAF.

Fitted with a Rotax 916 iS engine, the Heron MK II can reach an altitude of 35,000 feet, a maximum speed of 140 knots, and remain in the air for 45 consecutive hours.

Due to improved manufacturing technologies, the Heron MK II has a broader and stronger body structure, allowing quick and easy maintenance without adding weight.

Heron Mk2 Specifications

In comparison, MTOW for Heron drones already in service in India is 1,270 kilograms, and the payload weight is 470 kilograms. The length, wingspan dimensions, and other specifications of the two drones are similar.

Heron Mk2 Sensor Payload Options

The Heron Mk2 features better radio, radar, and optical sensors giving it better stand-off capability than its predecessor. The Mk2 can look and listen deep into adversary territory without crossing the border or putting itself in harm’s way of adversary air defenses.

The Mk2 can be configured with different payloads depending on the assigned role. Options include:

EO (Electro-Optical)/IR (Infra-red) sensors under its fuselage provide a real-time battlefield vision under all lighting conditions. Using a satellite communication link, an LRF (Laser Range Finder) facilitates precise distance measurement and real-time targeting information.
An LD (Laser Designator) allows a target to be illuminated for a stand-off strike by a fighter aircraft using laser-guided bombs.

For surveillance, the drone can be fitted with a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) or an MPR (Maritime Patrol Radar).

ELINT/ESM payloads facilitate electronic snooping and spoofing.

Armed Variant

Eventually, the goal is to weaponize the Indian Heron fleet with locally manufactured precision-guided munitions.

India and Israel have been in talks since 2016 to weaponize the existing IAF inventory of Searcher & Heron drones under a top secret and classified program code-named ‘Project Cheetah.’

However, Project Cheetah & a proposal to acquire ten armed Heron TP (see below) made no headway because of Israeli restrictions on the transfer of advanced technologies that would need to be embedded in the drones.

Alluding to the General Atomics pitch to sell MQ-9 Reapers to India, an Israeli source told FlightGlobal in 2017, “The restrictions that the Israeli Ministry of Defense attaches to the export of this advanced UAV are many, and in such a close competition may be a crucial factor.”

Heron TP?

In the past, there were reports in the Indian media that India was acquiring 10 Heron TP drones under a deal estimated to be worth $400 million. The Indian government approved the purchase in September 2015.

In early February 2020, it was reported that IAI & HAL would sign a contract to manufacture Heron TP drones in India. The agreement was to be signed during DefExpo 2020, with 100 drones projected to be manufactured to meet the requirements of the defense services.

The Heron TP is a much larger drone with an MTOW of 5,670 kilograms and a payload of 2,700 kilograms. It can cruise at over 45,000 ft and has an 85-foot wingspan, the same as a Boeing 737 airliner.

The payload carrying capacity of the drone would facilitate arming it with air-to-surface missiles.

The IA & IAF have opted for the Heron Mk 2 instead of the Heron TP. The decision would appear logical, considering India wants to weaponize its inventory of Searcher and Heron drones under Project Cheetah.

Weaponizing Herons and Heron Mk2 would involve developing the same weapons, hardware, and software. Weaponizing Heron & Heron TP would need double the resources.

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During this visit, a deal will be finalized between Israel and Vietnam for three batteries of the Barak 8 missile system. The value of this deal is being estimated at Rs 50 crore. The delegation will be led by the Deputy Commander of the Vietnam People’s Air Force as well as the Chief of Air Defense. Vietnam is already using the Spyder air-defense system manufactured by Israel.

The Barak 8 system is designed to protect against a variety of threats, including airplanes, helicopters, drones, cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles. It can be deployed on land or at sea.

Israel, India made Barak 8 missile

The Barak 8 missile is jointly made by Israel and India. Its range is said to be 70 km. The missile has been jointly designed by Israel Aerospace Industries and India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO).

Barak 8 has been jointly manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited and Rafael Advanced Defense Limited. Since 2016, this missile is deployed in the army of three countries.

The Barak 8 missile is already deployed in the Indian Army, Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Navy. Apart from this, the Israeli Navy and Azerbaijan’s Air Force also use this missile.

 Tension between Israeli companies over Vietnam

Vietnam’s interest in Israel Aerospace Industries’ Barak Systems is troubling news for another Israeli defense company, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. In fact, in 2015, Vietnam bought Rafale’s Spyder air-defense system for $600 million. It is considered the largest military deal ever between Israel and Vietnam.

Rafale has recently been in talks to buy three more Spyder systems from Vietnam, but according to Vietnamese sources, the government there is unhappy with Rafale. That is why Vietnam has decided to give priority to Israel Aerospace Industries.

 Vietnam buying weapons worth billions from Israel

The population of Vietnam is around 100 million. For the past 15 years, Vietnam has been buying weapons from Israeli companies. According to an estimate, Vietnam has purchased weapons worth $ 1.5 billion from Israel. Israel’s Elbit Systems has sold $60 million worth of command-and-control systems and $30 million worth of cyber and communications equipment to the Vietnamese Navy.

Israel Aerospace Industries has sold three Heron drone systems to Vietnam for approximately $14 million. Its Alta subsidiary has sold Radar to Vietnam for $150 million, while Ramta has sold 60 armored vehicles for $20 million.

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“Six Boeing-767s will be converted from civil to military certification. HAL will float a global tender to purchase second hand B-767s from the market,” an official source said. The overall process is expected to take at least three to four years, the official stated.

In addition, HAL is also looking at converting Boeing-747s of Air India for dedicated cargo role. The aircraft are available with Air India and have been recently pulled out from civilian role as they completed 20 years. The feasibility of it is being ascertained, the official stated.

IAI has the prior expertise of undertaking such conversion and HAL too had worked closely with IAI earlier on it, so this project can be undertaken and will fulfil a crucial requirement of the IAF, another official said.

The IAF presently has six Russian IL-78 midair refuellers and has been, for sometime, looking to procure six new aircraft, but the deal has been repeatedly delayed. It has been looking to re-issue the tender but the financial crunch had made the IAF rethink the acquisition. To meet requirements in the interim, the IAF has been looking at leasing some mid-air refuellers, an option introduced in the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020.

Mid-air refuelling significantly enhances the range and payload of fighter jets. It also allows the aircraft to stay in the air much beyond their normal limits allowing better exploitation of the platform’s capabilities.

As reported earlier, IAF officials had stated that broadly wet lease of platforms could be used for peacetime use and dry leasing to cater for operational requirements. In wet lease the platforms have to be maintained by the company supplying them, be it the original equipment manufacturer or the aggregator.

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The move, will provide India’s defence ecosystem with new capabilities and cost effective solutions in the market,” said the IAF.

“The MoU will facilitate HAL and IAI’s decades’ long expertise in developing, manufacturing and producing leading defence platforms. The scope of the MoU also covers ‘passenger to freighter aircraft’ conversion, along with MMTT conversions.

IAI has experience in modified aircraft for the IAF. In the early 2000s, IAI fitted the Phalcon radar into three IAF IL-76 aircraft, converting them into Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS).

With the Russian options considered outdated, the IAF will probably have to choose between the Airbus and Boeing options.

The Airbus 330 MRTT carries more fuel than the KC-46A Pegasus – 111 tonnes, as against 96 tonnes – but which remains in many respects a civilian airliner that retains commercial airline-style seating inside for 291 passengers. The KC-46A Pegasus has modular, military style, palletised seating that can be quickly bolted on for up to 160 passengers. Alternatively, it can carry 54 stretchers with patients.

The KC-46A’s tanker-specific avionics include state-of-the-art displays developed for the 787 Dreamliner. The USAF has insisted on the “boom operator” – who operates the boom that pumps fuel at 1,200 gallons per minute into the aircraft being refuelled – having a three-dimensional view from seven cameras that look to the rear.

Airbus, however, points out that its A330-200 has won practically every MRTT contest in the world. It has logged orders from the air forces of Australia, the UK, France, Saudi Arabia, The Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, and the UAE.

For the past decade-and-a-half, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been trying to buy six MMTT aircraft to supplement its eight obsolescent Russian Illyushin-78 refuellers.

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For the past decade-and-a-half, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been trying to buy six MMTT aircraft to supplement its eight obsolescent Russian Illyushin-78 refuellers. So dire is the IAF’s shortfall of refuellers that, to fly in its new Rafale fighters from France, it had to ask Paris for Airbus refullers to top up the Rafales’ fuel tanks over the Mediterranean Sea.

In two abortive procurement attempts in the past 15 years, the IAF has floated tenders to Ilyushin and Airbus. If a tender is floated afresh, there will be a third vendor in the fray – The Boeing Company, which has develo­ped the KC-46 Pegasus tanker aircraft for the US Air Force.

The reason for the IAF’s withdrawal of both tenders was a conflict between “procurement cost” and “life cycle cost”. Russia’s IL-78 tanker is cheaper; but the Spanish Airbus 330-200 tanker worked out cheaper in terms of life cycle costs – considering not just the acquisition cost, but also the cost of operation, maintenance and spares over a 30-year service life.

With leasing of defence equipment now permitted under the Defence Acquisition Procedure of 2020, the IAF could also lease, rather than buy refuellers.

The last option now available – converting civil airliners to refuelling tankers – mirrors the IAF’s “Phalcon model” – in which it approaches Israel to convert a Russian IL-76 into a Phalcon radar-fitted AWACS.

Tankers are valuable force multipliers for air forces such as India’s, which operate figh­ters for long-distance miss­ions. Mid-air refuelling almost doubles the operating range of fighters. Refuelling them mid-mission saves a trip back to ba­se, and a landing and take-off.

Under the new MoU, “HAL will convert pre-owned civil passenger aircraft into air refuelling aircraft with cargo and transport capabilities. The move, will provide India’s defence ecosystem with new capabilities and cost effective solutions in the market,” said the IAF.

“The MoU will facilitate HAL and IAI’s decades’ long expertise in developing, manufacturing and producing leading defence platforms. The scope of the MoU also covers ‘passenger to freighter aircraft’ conversion, along with MMTT conversions.

“We are glad to join hands with our long-standing partner, IAI, in this venture of MMTT conversion business which is one of the strategic diversification avenues identified by HAL,” said HAL chief, R Madhavan.

IAI has experience in modified aircraft for the IAF. In the early 2000s, IAI fitted the Phalcon radar into three IAF IL-76 aircraft, converting them into Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS).

Boaz Levy, president and CEO of IAI, said: “We are proud to come together with our counterparts to bring our best value MMTT solution in India, while utilising local resources to manufacture and market the platform. By collaborating with HAL and bringing conversion directly to India, we are supporting the ‘Make in India’ campaign”.

With the Russian options considered outdated, the IAF will probably have to choose between the Airbus and Boeing options. The Airbus 330 MRTT carries more fuel than the KC-46A Pegasus – 111 tonnes, as against 96 tonnes – but which remains in many respects a civilian airliner that retains commercial airline-style seating inside for 291 passengers.

Boeing marketing executives argue: “The KC-46A is not just a civil airliner that can carry extra fuel. It has been developed as a military aircraft, to the demanding specifications of the USAF.”

The KC-46A Pegasus has modular, military style, palletised seating that can be quickly bolted on for up to 160 passengers. Alternatively, it can carry 54 stretchers with patients.

The KC-46A’s tanker-specific avionics include state-of-the-art displays developed for the 787 Dreamliner. The USAF has insisted on the “boom operator” – who operates the boom that pumps fuel at 1,200 gallons per minute into the aircraft being refuelled – having a three-dimensional view from seven cameras that look to the rear. The pilots too can view the entire operation, which allows them to position their tanker aircraft suitably.

Airbus, however, points out that its A330-200 has won practically every MRTT contest in the world. It has logged orders from the air forces of Australia, the UK, France, Saudi Arabia, The Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, and the UAE.

However, a senior Boeing executive points out: “Those orders were placed when the KC-46A hadn’t entered service. Now, it provides India an additional option — one that consumes 30 per cent less fuel, is 20 per cent cheaper to operate, and that is derived from an aircraft with a despatch reliability rate of 99.7 per cent.”

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