The current RfP is for 750 hi-tech precision strike drones, termed Remotely Piloted Aerial Vehicle (RPAV). The previous RFPs were issued to procure 1,000 Surveillance Copters and 80 Mini Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs).

Hi-tech Precision Strike Drones

The MoD intends to procure 750 RPAVs for the Indian Army’s Parachute (Special Forces) Battalions which are mandated to execute special missions behind enemy lines through Fast Track Procedure under Emergency Procurement.

The Army’s special forces are looking for specialised drones that can provide 3D imagery of the terrain to launch operations.

The RFP is part of the tendering process seeking commercial and technical bids from suppliers. Some 750 such drones are needed. “The current volatile situation along the northern borders warrants expeditious procurement of operational equipment,” the RFP document said. The Army is looking for UAVs that can provide round-the-clock surveillance with ability to scan the target area and provide a processed 3D scanned image of the target to execute special missions. The MoD wants to keep out any Chinese parts and has asked the vendor to provide NATO stock number (NSN) for each item provided by a foreign maker.

This force multiplier would enable the Special Forces to execute pinpoint precision strikes during direct action tasks such as raids, elimination of high-value targets, and command and control elements including enemy leadership.

This equipment will be deployed for situational awareness and short-range surveillance that will enable the special forces to execute pin-point precision strikes during direct action tasks. The Army wants the UAV to be about 2 kg in weight and be operable by one person. The UAV needs to have an endurance of 30 minutes and be able to operate indoors and in GPS-denied areas.

Remotely Piloted Aircraft

On 20 October 2022, the Army began the process to procure 80 mini remotely piloted aircraft systems and 1,000 surveillance copters to bolster its overall surveillance apparatus along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. Officials said the mini remotely piloted aircraft is an ideal multi-sensor system to carry out day and night surveillance and target detection in high-altitude regions.

The last date for submission of bids for the remotely piloted aircraft programme was November 16. “The system will be able to provide high resolution imagery to enable target detection, recognition, identification and accurate location of adversary’s location as well as build up of troops,” said an official.

The mini remotely piloted aircraft systems are being procured under the ‘buy’ (Indian) category. According to the request for proposal or initial tender, the select supplier will have to supply the platforms within 12 months of signing the contract.

As per the requirement of the Army, the new man-portable mini-RPAS must weigh up to 15 kilograms, have a mission range of at least 15 kilometers, and have an operation endurance of no less than 90 minutes. While the runway-independent RPAS should have the vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capability at an altitude of 13,000 feet with a minimum four-hour endurance

The new RPAS will be used for tactical surveillance to locate enemy soldiers and weapon systems in a particular sector. In contrast, strategic surveillance aims to determine the big picture, for example, where the enemy is concentrating his forces, what routes are used for supplies, where are the logistics hubs, etc.

The new RPAS with day-and-night capability are consequently needed by forward observation posts to look deeper and direct, correct, and analyze artillery fire.

Surveillance Copters

The Army’s procurement of 1,000 surveillance copters through fast track procedure under emergency procurement process is also aimed at boosting surveillance along the frontier with China.

“For surveillance needs of the Indian Army, expeditious procurement of surveillance copters for meeting urgent operational requirements is an operational imperative, where undue/unforeseen delay is seen to be adversely impacting the capacity and preparedness of the Indian Army,” according to a brief on the programme.

It said the surveillance copter will provide aerial surveillance capability and sustained point surveillance to the Indian Army.

The last date for submission of bids for the programme is November 17.

A surveillance copter is an ideal multi-sensor system to carry out real-time reconnaissance and surveillance day and night. It will provide high-resolution imagery to enable target detection, recognition and accurate location of adversary’s build-up. The UAVs will be sourced from Indian companies.

The copters will provide aerial surveillance capability and sustained point surveillance to the Army. It will have a multi-sensor system to carry out real-time reconnaissance and surveillance of an area of interest.

The system will provide high-resolution imagery to enable target detection, recognition, identification and accurate location of adversary’s build-up, mortars, guns, movement of troops and vehicles during border management and active operations.

The copters will have an all-up weight of no more than 10 kg and can take off from an altitude of 13,000 ft.

Swarm Drone Systems

To enhance its defensive and offensive capabilities, the Indian Army in August 2022 inducted the swarm drone system. As evident from the recent ongoing conflicts globally, they have proved to be a major force multiplier. Even at the borders in India, drone-related incidents have seen a major surge in the past few months.

The resourcefulness of the swarm drone technology has proved itself during the recent conflicts in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Syria and the strike on oil fields in Saudi Arabia and the recent Russia-Ukraine war.

Loitering munitions, Aerial Targeting System

The Army has started the process to procure 120 loitering munitions and 10 aerial targeting systems to bolster its military might along the frontier with China.

The RfP for the procurement was issued around November 14. The loitering munitions and the aerial targeting systems are being procured under the fast track procedure within the framework of ‘buy Indian’ category, they said.

Under the prescribed specifications, the aerial targeting systems will be required to have a range of 100 km.

Separate Cadre of UAV Operators

The Army is looking to create a separate cadre for operating its Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), according to Lt Gen AK Suri, Director General of Army Aviation. He was speaking at a seminar on Unmanned Aerial Systems, organised by Indian Military Review, on 16 September 2022.

“This cadre will be of operators in terms of piloting and will reduce the load on helicopter pilots,” he said, adding 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.

The proposal is currently with the Army headquarters and once cleared, will be sent to the Defence Ministry for approval. A similar proposal for a separate UAV cadre by the IAF has been long pending with the Defence Ministry for approval.

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. Awareness of the enemy (battlefield transparency) is crucial in high altitude where mobility is a prime factor in gaining advantage and these will help the Units deployed in the Northern Borders. These RPAs will assist the local commanders in gaining information on the enemy position, men and equipment and about the changes on ground, thus enabling them to take timely and appropriate action,” he said.

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The last date for submission of bids for the remotely piloted aircraft programme is November 16.

“The system will be able to provide high resolution imagery to enable target detection, recognition, identification and accurate location of adversary’s location as well as build up of troops,” said an official.

According to the request for proposal or initial tender, the select supplier will have to supply the platforms within 12 months of signing the contract.

The mini remotely piloted aircraft systems are being procured under the ‘buy’ (Indian) category.

The Army’s procurement of 1,000 surveillance copters through fast track procedure under emergency procurement process is also aimed at boosting surveillance along the frontier with China.

Officials said the current dynamic volatile situation along the Northern borders warrants seamless surveillance.

“For surveillance needs of the Indian Army, expeditious procurement of surveillance copters for meeting urgent operational requirements is an operational imperative, where undue/unforeseen delay is seen to be adversely impacting the capacity and preparedness of the Indian Army,” according to a brief on the programme.

It said the surveillance copter will provide aerial surveillance capability and sustained point surveillance to the Indian Army.

Surveillance Copter is an ideal multi sensor system to carry out day and night, real time reconnaissance and surveillance.

“The system will provide high resolution imagery to enable target detection, recognition, identification and accurate location of adversaries’ build up,” said an official.

The last date for submission of bids for the programme is November 17.

The Army has been ramping up its overall combat capabilities in view of the lingering border row in eastern Ladakh.

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It must have a minimum endurance of more than 10 hours with a basic payload and loitering capability at 5,000 feet and at 100 kilometers range in basic configuration.

Each system is to comprise of two air vehicles, which are modular in design, made of composite material and that can be dismantled/folded for portability and stowage onboard ship (in a container provided along with Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) being supplied. The RPA must be easily assembled onboard the ship.

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LCH LSP is an indigenously designed, developed and manufactured state of the art modern combat helicopter containing approx. 45% indigenous content by value which will progressively increase to more than 55% for SP Version.

This helicopter is equipped with requisite agility, maneuverability, extended range, high altitude performance and around-the-clock, all-weather combat capability to perform roles of Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR), Destruction of Enemy Air Defence (DEAD), Counter Insurgency (CI) operations, against slow moving aircraft and Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs), high altitude bunker busting operations, Counter Insurgency operations in jungle and urban environments and support to ground forces and would be a potent platform to meet the operational requirements of Indian Air Force & Indian Army.

State of the art technologies and systems compatible with stealth features such as reduced Visual, Aural, Radar and IR signatures and crashworthiness features for better survivability have been integrated in LCH for deployment in combat roles catering to emerging needs for next 3 to 4 decades. Several key aviation technologies like Glass Cockpit and composite airframe structure have been indigenised. The future Series Production version will consist of further modern & indigenous systems.

Light Combat Helicopters are already in the import embargo list. With its versatile features built in for combat missions, LCH has export capability.

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The drone could be launched from a military cargo aircraft, like C130J or the C17. The Joint Working Group on Air Systems of the India-US DTTI (Defence Technology and Trade Initiative), will oversee the project. It is the inaugural co-development project under the U.S.- India DTTI, aimed at bringing sustained leadership focus to promote collaborative technology exchange and create opportunities for co-production and co-development of future technologies for Indian and US military forces.

The agreement was signed by Brig. Gen. Brian Bruckbauer and Air Vice Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari, both co-chair of the US-India Defense Technology and Trade Initiative on 16 July 2021. The agreement outlines collaboration for design, development, demonstration, testing and evaluation of systems to co-develop an ALUAV Prototype.

The project is valued at more than $22 million with costs shared equally, and marks the largest-ever defence Research, Development, Test and Evaluation collaboration between the United States and India. The objectives are the Design, Development, Demonstration, Test and Evaluation of technologies including physical hardware such as small UAVs, avionics, payload power, propulsion, and launch systems through prototyping that meet the operational requirements of the Indian and U.S. Air Forces.

Under DTTI, Joint Working Groups on land, naval, air, and aircraft carrier technologies have been established to focus on mutually agreed projects in respective domains.

The two countries have also inked key defence and security pacts over the past few years, including the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies as well as provides for deeper cooperation.

The two sides have also signed COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) in 2018 that provides for interoperability between the two militaries and the sale of high-end technology from the US to India.

In October last year, India and the US sealed the BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) agreement to further boost bilateral defence ties.

Clarity Sought on Predator Drones

India has sought “more clarity” from the United States about the price fixation, maintenance and transfer of technology in the proposed $3 billion (around Rs 22,000 crore) deal to acquire armed MQ-9B Predator drones before finalising the deal. India plans to buy 30 armed drones, which are designed for long-range precision strikes against hostile targets on land and sea, from the US.

The Indian government finalised the plan to acquire these 30 drones, also known as SeaGuardian or SkyGuardian remotely-piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) to strengthen its long-range unmanned lethal capabilities. The army, navy and Indian Air Force (IAF) are to get 10 drones each, with different payloads to hunt and destroy targets over land and sea, the report saidt.

Once the project gets the AoN from the DAC, India will issue an actionable LoR (letter of request) to the US government. The final contract would be signed after the US responds with a letter of offer and acceptance and notifies US Congress.

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Conditions have been laid down in case of such exemption for aerial surveillance, aerial photography and public announcements related to Covid-19. Exemption is limited to battery-operated rotary-wing RPAs. Use of any other type of RPA, including but not limited to, fixed-wing RPA and autonomous RPA etc. is strictly prohibited.

Details of every RPA flight will be uploaded on Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) Digital Sky Platform within seven days of undertaking the flight. Any incident or accident related to any RPA operation shall be immediately reported to Ministry of Civial Aviation (MoCA) and DGCA through the Digital Sky Platform.

The RPA will have a Unique Identification Number (UIN) and/or Drone Acknowledgment Number (DAN) issued by DGCA; not exceed a total all-up weight of 25 kg; equipped with an automatic return-to-home feature in case of any loss of the command-and-control link; restricted to a height of 200 feet Above Ground Limit (AGL); operated within visual line of sight (VLOS) at all times; operated while maintaining safe distance from people, buildings, vehicles and property at all times; not pick, drop, spray or discharge any substance; restricted to a period between local sunrise and local sunset.

Safety and security distances have also been laid down – not within a distance of 5 km from the perimeter of airports at Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad; not within a distance of 3 km from the perimeter of other civil, private or defence airports; not within permanent or temporary Prohibited, Restricted and Danger Areas including Temporary Reserved Airspace (TRA), and Temporarily Segregated Areas (TSA), as notified in the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP); not within 25km from international border which includes Line of Control (LoC), Line of Actual Control (LAC) and Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL); beyond 500 m (horizontal) into sea from coast line provided the location of ground station is on fixed platform over land; not within 3 km from perimeter of military installations/ facilities/ where military activities/ exercises are being carried out unless clearance is obtained from the local military installation/facility; not within 5 km radius from Vijay Chowk in Delhi. This is subject to additional conditions/ restrictions imposed by local law enforcement agencies/ authorities;  not within 3 km radius from State Secretariat Complex in State Capitals; and not within 2 km from perimeter of strategic locations/vital installations notified by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

 ‘Pandemic Drone’ to Detect Coronavirus

A ‘pandemic drone’ to remotely monitor and detect people with infectious respiratory conditions is being developed by the University of South Australia (UniSA) in partnership with a Canadian company.

The drone will be fitted with a specialised sensor and computer vision system that can monitor temperature, heart and respiratory rates, as well as detect people sneezing and coughing in crowds, offices, airports, cruise ships, aged care homes and other places where groups of people may work or congregate.

The UniSA team led by Defence Chair of Sensor Systems  Professor Javaan Chahl, who holds a joint appointment DST, will work with Draganfly Inc, a North American drone technology company, to immediately start integrating commercial, medical and government customers.

Professor Chahl, working alongside Dr Ali Al-Naji and Asanka Perera, achieved global recognition in 2017 when they demonstrated image-processing algorithms that could extract a human’s heart rate from drone video.

Since then they have demonstrated that heart rate  and breathing rate can be measured with high accuracy within 5-10 metres of people, using drones and at distances of up to 50 metres with fixed cameras. They have also developed algorithms that can interpret human actions such as sneezing and coughing.

He says the technology could be a viable screening tool for the Covid-19 pandemic.

MSMEs Can Get UAV Projects

MSMEs in drone manufacturing have found the going difficult and with the pandemic melt down of the manufacturing in India, may require impetus more than ever to remain commercially viable.

While the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been trying to indigenize these, the private sector UAV industry has been growing. Unfortunately the evolution of technology has been restricted due to ambiguity in implementation of Drone Regulations promulgated by Airport Authority of India (AAI).

In a letter to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) has requested for a directive to be issued to the DRDO, Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) and the Services to prepare a list of projects that can shared with the private sector companies and the MSMEs.

DRDO’s long range multi-mission drone, Rustom-2 has been under development since 2011, even after realizing multiple airframes and Design Validation Flights (DVF) by 2017 itself, there have been delays to meet the User’s requirements.

In the mini UAVs category, Netra is a Quadcopter developed by DRDO with Private industry Partnership and could be supplied to Police and Para military services, even Indian Army exploited these drones but technological advancement pushed for upgradation of these mini UAVS.

Due to restrictions in explosive ordnance handling by commercial agencies, the design and development of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) for attack role have been limited in India. India’s first weaponized drone was undertaken by National Security Guards (NSG) in 2018. A private MSME completed the successful development and subsequent manufacture trials of ‘Kamikaze’ explosive laden mini-Quadcopter drones. However, due to complicated procurement procedures has not been inducted yet.

Overall, the armed forces are still dependent on import of UAVs for operational missions, and is spending dollars for maintenance like spares, annual maintenance contracts (AMC) signed with the original equipment manufacturers (OEM), etc, as India has not been able to manufacture any indigenous UAVs.

IAF Interested in Swarm Drones Launched From Aircraft

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has been researching several types of swarm drone technology that could be used on the battlefield. According to Pentagon acquisition head Ellen Lord, one particular programme has impressed the Indian Air Force (IAF) due to which US and India have discussed collaborating on such efforts to build a relatively low-cost unmanned aircraft that can be launched from a “mother ship” transport aircraft like C-130J which IAF already has in its fleet and then be recovered by the same mother ship after their mission is complete.

The IAF also wants to include other “mother ship” transport aircraft like its C-17 fleet and primarily talks were held last year about collaboration between US Air Force Research Laboratory and DRDO. Further talks will likely be held later in 2020 to work on the technicality of the proposed joint venture.

According to DARPA’s concept, a jet-powered drone can be launched from the C-130 wing pylons and recovered by using a docking cable and a crane-like recovery arm from the cargo door. DARPA is looking at the drones that can be used as a potential line-of-sight communications link in contested environments where radios could be jammed, as well as use its sensor platforms for surveillance and targeting.

Each C-130J will be able to launch 4 such Jet powered SWARM drones which can be tasked to perform specific individual tasks and interact with each other using autonomous mode and all can be recovered within 20 minutes.

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