India which has been continuously pushing in fields of drone has developed many drones and operates a large fleet of drones both indigenous and foreign but one place where India lacks currently is in UCAV or Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles or Combat drones.
For years India has tried to acquire drones like American predator but as India was not a member of MTCR before 2016 it was unable to get them. So India started its own UCAV projects like Rustom-II which is a MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance) UCAV which is still under development & has recently started its flight trials and more prototypes are being made to speed up the flight trials & hopefully by end of 2017 its flight trials would be done but then too Rustom-II is atleast a few years away from getting inducted into service as after flight trials too there is weapon integration, weapon firing etc which will surely take some time to complete.
So now India has been pushing for Combat drones for quite some time and America has not really been helping us as they want us to buy their Guardian Unarmed drones instead of Armed ones which we request.
This is where INDO-ISRAELI relationship came to effect and as India and Israel have been partners for very long period ( now it's more open but the relationship dates back to about 3 decades atleast) and Israel has been a major partner especially in field of defence. India has been operating Israeli Heron and Searcher drones for a long time now for reconnaissance and surveillance missions.
According to latest reports India and Israel have secretly signed a deal for about 10 ISRAELI HERON TP armed drones which are also called IAI EITAN. The deal is said to be worth 400 million $ and the eventhough the details are not very clear as many part of the deal are being kept secret the amount hints that the deal has weapons package included. As Indian armed forces have already been operating the unarmed Heron drones so training and maintenance won't be a big issue.
HERON TP is a very potent drone and is one of the best combat drone in world, it is capable of carrying payload of about 2000 kgs and has endurance of 70+ hours (max estimated endurance, normally considered 40-60 hrs). Also it has a very high service ceiling and its range is about 7000-8000 kms. These drones will give India an unprecedented capability of striking terror camps across borders without risking the lives of soldiers and will even assist in anti-piracy and anti-naxal operations. These can also be employed for various other roles.
Looking at the political side of the deal this strengthens the bond between India and Israel and also shows the level of cooperation and trust both countries have. It also shows Israel's willingness to provide its top technologies to India.
Also seeing at the projected requirements of all armed forces it should be noted that India wants about 200-250 armed drones in about 8-10 years so the order is expected to further grow.
India is also lobbying for TOT and MAKE IN INDIA with Israel and this will also be a priority in PM NARENDRA MODI'S Israel visit in July.
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For years India has tried to acquire drones like American predator but as India was not a member of MTCR before 2016 it was unable to get them. So India started its own UCAV projects like Rustom-II which is a MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance) UCAV which is still under development & has recently started its flight trials and more prototypes are being made to speed up the flight trials & hopefully by end of 2017 its flight trials would be done but then too Rustom-II is atleast a few years away from getting inducted into service as after flight trials too there is weapon integration, weapon firing etc which will surely take some time to complete.
So now India has been pushing for Combat drones for quite some time and America has not really been helping us as they want us to buy their Guardian Unarmed drones instead of Armed ones which we request.
This is where INDO-ISRAELI relationship came to effect and as India and Israel have been partners for very long period ( now it's more open but the relationship dates back to about 3 decades atleast) and Israel has been a major partner especially in field of defence. India has been operating Israeli Heron and Searcher drones for a long time now for reconnaissance and surveillance missions.
According to latest reports India and Israel have secretly signed a deal for about 10 ISRAELI HERON TP armed drones which are also called IAI EITAN. The deal is said to be worth 400 million $ and the eventhough the details are not very clear as many part of the deal are being kept secret the amount hints that the deal has weapons package included. As Indian armed forces have already been operating the unarmed Heron drones so training and maintenance won't be a big issue.
HERON TP is a very potent drone and is one of the best combat drone in world, it is capable of carrying payload of about 2000 kgs and has endurance of 70+ hours (max estimated endurance, normally considered 40-60 hrs). Also it has a very high service ceiling and its range is about 7000-8000 kms. These drones will give India an unprecedented capability of striking terror camps across borders without risking the lives of soldiers and will even assist in anti-piracy and anti-naxal operations. These can also be employed for various other roles.
Looking at the political side of the deal this strengthens the bond between India and Israel and also shows the level of cooperation and trust both countries have. It also shows Israel's willingness to provide its top technologies to India.
Also seeing at the projected requirements of all armed forces it should be noted that India wants about 200-250 armed drones in about 8-10 years so the order is expected to further grow.
India is also lobbying for TOT and MAKE IN INDIA with Israel and this will also be a priority in PM NARENDRA MODI'S Israel visit in July.
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Is this Israeli drone better than american avenger and predator??
ReplyDeleteIsrael is the global leader in terms of drones, yeah in some aspects like endurance it does beat American Predator drones.
DeleteRustom-II won't be armed so we could go for both avenger & heron.
ReplyDeleteThat's another Indian media misconception buddy, I am actually writing an article on that now.
DeleteStay tuned
Hitesh Adhikari
There are Rutan creations that have gone public domain and are easy to build (conceived for self construction) with +/- free blueprints roaming around.Some countries simply use such building-plans for their drones (!).
ReplyDeleteMost of drones, Reaper-style, are nothing else than reinforced motor-gliders.
Again, my weapons of choice for such use would be reviving LOGIR and fitting it on CRV7 rocket, alternative use of XM395 guided mortar shell and maybe also MBDA Viper-Strike small gliding bomb.
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Hitesh, if you can erase this part after reading...
Have you something about India considering buying E-2D for future CATOBAR aircraft carrier?
Now remember what I've told you about the idea of reviving Bréguet 941 through Dassault (as they merged) in a modern way (no need gearboxes when digital regulation of engines can do the job) and, just have a earn about prices practised on Hawkheyes exports : very near to the double flyaway costs paid by USN : around $300+ for an E-2C and the E-2D with L-band anti-stealth radar seems wanted. I really was very serious about the interest of reviving this ashamedly forgotten design in a modern way.
Note that E-2 is an older design than Br.941 ;-)
Does Indian MoD looks for s.o. with some understanding of how to improve defence procuration? I think I may help 'em to spare a few billions ;)
Yeah glide bombs are good stand off weapons but drones are still needed above for ground support and live field info, u see it takes a glide bombs time to reach place and it doesn't give live footage of area or any info. Although as stand off weapons a glide bombs can do the task.
DeleteINDIA ATM.has no plans of E-2d as far as I know, the navy uses helicopter AWACS instead. Also our Navy is not really a blue water navy till now so I don't think they will be getting e-2 ATM so DRDO has quite some time to develop such naval awacs. U see we don't really trust murica even today đŸ˜‰.
Thankyou
ReplyDeleteA debt of gratitude is in order for setting aside the opportunity to discuss this, I feel emphatically about it and love to know more on this subject. In the event that conceivable, please update us with fpv drones information. I really appreciate your work.
ReplyDelete