The Indian Armed Forces is most likely to procure 97 indigenously developed drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for over Rs 10,000 Crores for surveillance purpose along China and Pakistan borders.
The project will be under the ‘Make-in-India’ route.
As per ANI, a scientific study was carried out by the Indian Armed Forces jointly and it has been decided that to meet the Medium Altitude Long Endurance requirements, they would require 97 such drones for keeping an eye on both land and sea.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) will be the lead service responsible for the procurement of these drones, indicating its significance in enhancing India’s aerial surveillance capabilities.
Rather, the IAF is set to receive the highest number of drones among all three defence forces.
These drones to be acquired by the three defence services would be in addition to the exiting fleet of over 46 Heron UAVs acquired by the three forces over the years in their respective fleets.
Noteworthy, the drones which are already in service with the Armed Forces are going to be upgraded by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in partnership with the OEMs through the ‘Make-in-India’ route.
They will have to upgraded within the country using over 60 percent Indian content.
Besides, India is already going ahead with the procurement of 31 Predator drones which are in the High Altitude Long Endurance category and would be used for surveillance of vast areas of Indian interest.
