The Indian Army’s surveillance capability near Pakistan border in Punjab is all set to get a boost as the force is set to deploy its Drishti-10 medium-altitude, long-endurance drones at a forward base in the Punjab sector.
These drones are expected to be inducted into the force in the next two to three months.
Noteworthy, the Drishti-10 Starliner is an Indian Medium Altitude Long Endurance UAV based on the Elbits Hermes 900 platform and manufactured by Adani Defence and Aerospace for the Indian Armed Forces.
The Indian Army has placed orders for two of these drones from the firm under emergency provisions that mandate that the systems supplied by vendors should be more than 60 percent indigenous and should be under the ‘Make in India’ in Defence.
Further, the Indian Army has plans to deploy these drones in the Punjab sector, where it can keep an eye on a large area, including the desert sector as well as the areas north to the Punjab.
Currently, the Indian Army is already operating the Heron Mark 1 and Mark 2 drones and has also placed orders for the Drishti-10 or the Hermes-900 drones under the last tranche of the emergency procurements approved by the government for the forces.
Adani Defence had signed a deal with the Israeli firm Elbit for the transfer of technology for the drones and stated that it has indigenized 70 per cent of the birds and will work to increase it further.
Besides, the Army has also inducted more satellite communication-enabled birds from Israel, as it has a few Heron Mark 2 birds in direct deals with Israeli Aircraft Industries.
The drones were unveiled earlier this week by Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar and Director General Army Aviation Lt Gen Ajay Suri in Hyderabad.
The Indian Navy is going to position them in Porbandar to keep an eye on the maritime boundary with Pakistan as well as the high seas, as the BiRa have the capability to fly for over 30 hours and cover a distance of around 2,000 km in one go.
Source: https://aninews.in/
About Drishti-10 drones
Developed as an advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platform.
It is an all-weather military platform compatible with NATO’s STANAG 4671 (standardised agreement 4671) certification for the UAV system’s airworthiness.
Drishti 10 Starliner is cleared to fly in both segregated and unsegregated airspace. It is built at the Adani Aerospace Park in Hyderabad.
The sophisticated, state-of-the-art UAV marks a significant step towards strategic autonomy and technological leadership in high-endurance, combat-proven, and indigenized advanced aerial systems.
