Indian Military UAV Procurement Programs : General Discussions
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Armed forces contract more long endurance drones from Israel under emergency procurement
Adani Aerospace and Defence in partnership with Elbit Systems manufactures the complete carbon composite aerostructures for Hermes 900 and Hermes 450 in Hyderabad.
The three services have contracted two Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) each through the fourth tranche of emergency procurements sanctioned by the government recently, all from Israel. The contracts have been concluded and the deliveries are expected early next year, multiple defence sources independently confirmed.
While the Army and Navy have procured the Hermes 900 manufactured by Elbit Systems, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has procured the Heron Mk2 from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). In 2021, the Army had contracted four Heron-Mk2 UAS which were inducted last year.
“The induction of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) Heron MKII and planned induction of Hermes 900 Star liners will not only boost the reconnaissance and surveillance capability of Indian Army but also their teaming with combat helicopters will prove to be a game changer in the third dimension,” a defence source said.
Adani Aerospace and Defence in partnership with Elbit Systems – Adani Elbit UAV Complex – manufactures the complete carbon composite aerostructures for Hermes 900 and Hermes 450 in Hyderabad.
To questions if the conflict in West Asia may impact the delivery schedule, sources said the air frame for the Hermes 900 has already been made in Hyderabad. “Some equipment has to come in from Israel which has already come in. So there is no impact with respect to that,” a source stated.
As reported by The Hindu earlier, in August 2021, the Army Aviation got control of the Army’s Heron MALE UAS which were earlier under the Artillery. “The transfer of RPAS has further enhanced our surveillance as well as strike capability and transformed Army Aviation into a potent force multiplier capable of operating in combined combat teams concept and of performing varied tasks across the varied terrain of our country,” the source cited earlier stated.
Heron upgrade
There is also a major upgrade plan lined up for all the Heron to Mk2 for weaponisation and facilitation of SATCOM capability estimated to cost of ₹21,000 crore. However, that has been long delayed and officials expressed confidence that it would be cleared soon.Of the four Heron-MK2, two were deployed at Leh while the other two were in Eastern Command area late last year. Initially, the idea was to lease them IAI but after evaluation of the cost, the Army went for their purchase. As reported earlier, the Army is looking to create a separate cadre of UAV operators and the proposal is currently under consideration by the Army Headquarters.
Elbit Systems describes the Hermes 900 Starliner, as a “powerful and trend setting” MALE UAV that features adverse weather capabilities and qualified to be “safely integrated into civilian airspace and fly in the same environment with manned aircraft.” It has an endurance of up to 36 hours and a service ceiling of 30,000 feet.
As reported by The Hindu last month, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Anil Chauhan has ordered two studies to be conducted regarding major military platforms used by all three services, on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and armoured helicopters. Of these, the study on UAVs has since been completed with the recommendation for 31 MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) UAVs and 155 Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAVs.
A deal to procure 31 MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance drones from the U.S. is currently in advanced stages.
@randomradio its not Heron TP
Why not Heron Mk2 only? Similar capabilities like Hermes 900. Already in service with Army. Why 2 totally different platforms?
We need a new pro Sanatan Capitalistic Political movement in India.
The IA didn't plan to buy the Heron, as per the article, just lease it. I suppose it was done in preparation for future upgrades of the Heron fleet. Whereas Hermes 900 is a successor with its own features.
And since both are from different companies, there may be certain unique advancements in both types that the IA wants.
India drops plan to arm Heron drones under Project Cheetah: Here’s why
From Israeli Hermes Starliner to the American MQ-9B and swarm drones, India is upgrading its drone warfare capability in a big way, procuring a host of UAVs, including the US's Predator drones.
New Delhi: India has dropped plans to arm its fleet of Israeli Heron Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and will now only upgrade Heron’s communication capability to satellite connectivity to allow them better endurance capabilities, ThePrint has learnt.
Sources in the defence establishment said that India is procuring a host of UAVs, including the Predator drones from the US, and hence it did not make sense to spend another nearly Rs 5,000 crore to arm the Heron drones under what was known as Project Cheetah.
It is expected that the 31 High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) drones, MQ-9B, will be inducted into the Indian military over a period of next three-four years.
According to the plan, the Navy will get 15 MQ-9B drones in maritime and anti-submarine warfare kits, while the Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF) will get eight each of the land version.
In the original plan, India was pursuing Project Cheetah, under which the Herons, used by the military, were to undergo an upgrade in two phases.
In the first phase, the Army would have upgraded the Herons with the capability of satellite navigation and specialised sensors that can detect more clearly.
The Herons currently have an endurance of about 24 hours and can transmit back live video feed and images of about 200-250 km (range).
However, with satellite-linked drones, they will have almost unlimited range of transmission. This means that these systems can be fully exploited to their endurance capabilities.
Because of the tensions with China, the Army has already bought four Heron MK 2 which are satellite communication enabled with longer endurance of nearly 30 hours.
As far as Project Cheetah was concerned, the icing on the cake was the plan to arm them. Under the contract, the Israelis were to upgrade the Herons with the ability to not only undertake more specialised and longer surveillance missions but also precision strikes.
The upgraded Herons were to have the capability to carry and launch air-to-ground precision missiles.
“The plan to arm the Herons as part of the upgrade has been shelved,” a source said.
Sources said that the upgrade of the Heron drones would be done in India now.
“But the MQ-9Bs will fill in the void, backed by a number of loitering munitions that we have bought and are buying, besides the swarm drones which are being inducted,” a source said.
Asked if the number of 8 MQ-9B will be enough for the Army, the source said that the military is moving towards integrated operations and the overall numbers are sufficient.
Meanwhile, sources also argued that spending too much on arming drones makes no sense because the airspace that India has to fight in is heavily contested, unlike when an American just flies into countries without any air defence to strike at targets.
Army’s focus on drones
According to sources, going ahead, there will be a lot of focus on indigenous products and cited the procurement of Hermes Starliner drones that have the capability to fly for nearly 36 hours at a stretch.“These drones are being bought under emergency procurement. The drone is being built in Hyderabad and only certain parts are coming in from Israel. Going ahead, all UAVs of MALE [medium altitude long endurance] categories will be procured domestically only,” another source said.
The drone is being manufactured by the Adani Group at its facility in Hyderabad in partnership with Israel’s Elbit Systems.
As reported by ThePrint earlier, the Army has seen massive emphasis on drone warfare.
Herons have been brought under the Army Aviation Corps from the Artillery to ensure that all flying assets of the Army remain as a single cohesive unit, sources said.
When the drones were first procured way back in early 2000s, the machines were primarily used for target sightings and hence it was under the artillery which had the long range.
Since the tensions with China began along the line of Actual Control in 2020, there has been an increased focus on aviation.
The Army has since then set up three Aviation Brigades, two for China and one for Pakistan. The sources said the Army will also set up two more.
Hermes 900 MALE-UAVs, aka Drishti-10, Arriving Early Next Year for IA & IN
It was on March 2, 2021 that Israel’s ELBIT Systems had announced that it had received a US$300 million contract from an undisclosed Asian customer to supply and deliver Hermes 900 Starliner MALE-UAS. The contract also requires ELBIT Systems to provide MRO services for those MALE-UAVs. That customer has turned out to be India, with six each of the UAVs and one each of the ground-based control stations going to the Indian Army and Indian Navy.
All 12 Hermes 900s will be licence-assembled by Adani Defence & Aerospace, through its Adani-Elbit UAV Complex subsidiary, located at the Adani Aerospace Park in Hyderabad. Adani Defence & Aerospace had first exhibited the Hermes 900 during the Aero India 2017 expo in Bengaluru. Thereafter, the $15 million Adani-Elbit UAV Complex was inaugurated in December 2018, where most of the composites-based aerostructures for the Hermes 900 are fabricated.
The Hermes 900 has a payload capacity of 300kg, service ceiling of 9,100 metres (30,000 feet), a cruise speed of 112kph (60 Knots), and an endurance of 36 hours at cruise speed. The payload includes either a synthetic aperture radar for ground target-mapping, or a maritime surveillance radar as well as the standard optronic sensor, plus an electronic surveillance system and the automatic identification system (AIS) for maritime surveillance. Eyeing India’s long coastline, ELBIT notes that maritime patrol aircraft could not possibly cover the country’s 200-mile offshore economic exclusion zone (EEZ) without the benefit of cross-cueing from a wide-area surveillance system such as the Hermes 900. Elbit claims that the Hermes 900 could fly as far as 1,000nm offshore thanks to SATCOM communications, and make frequent descents from higher altitude so that the optronic sensor could identify vessels. The command-and-control system is housed in a single shelter that can allow it to be carried by warships. ELBIT has teamed with another Israeli company, MARINT, to offer advanced maritime analytical software that can exploit data from multiple sources. Vessel behaviour is analysed to detect anomalous and suspicious behaviour that differs from routine maritime patterns.
All three armed services of India have a combined MALE-UAV requirement for 155 MALE-UAVs.
Hermes 900 MALE-UAVs, aka Drishti-10, Arriving Early Next Year for IA & IN
It was on March 2, 2021 that Israel’s ELBIT Systems had announced that it had received a US$300 million contract from an undisclosed Asian c...
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People like this guy think somehow private companies directly jump to R&D. They need to start somewhere. Offsets is a better alternatives to direct import.
Its a massive failure by ADE. But go on blaming offsets.
Oh boy, these were some terrific claims. Comparing it to twice as big Reaper and its issues my uninformed opinions.
Now, they closed down the program, who would have guessed.
I'm sure people think the Rafale sucks compared to the twice-as-big MKI by that same logic.
The additional weight doesn't matter, it's just strengthened wings for weapons and an extra tank of fuel to compensate for all that extra weight and thrust. It carries the same avionics as the Reaper. The SkyGuardian is much more capable though.
The problem is people don't understand how avionics work. Both Reaper and Rustom 2 have internal payloads of 350-360 kg. They quite literally carry the same class of avionics. In fact, Rustom 2's avionics are more advanced compared to the Reaper, 'cause it's newer. Both aircraft are designed to operationally fly at the same altitude as well.
ADE sucking at their job is a different story altogether. However a smaller Archer-NG has superceded Rustom 2.
There is an exact replica of the Reaper as well, it's simply called HALE, run by both ADE and HAL. And this one has the same weapons carrying capacity as the Reaper, but again, carries pretty much the same avionics. It just flies more.
I'm sure people think the Rafale sucks compared to the twice-as-big MKI by that same logic.
The additional weight doesn't matter, it's just strengthened wings for weapons and an extra tank of fuel to compensate for all that extra weight and thrust. It carries the same avionics as the Reaper. The SkyGuardian is much more capable though.
The problem is people don't understand how avionics work. Both Reaper and Rustom 2 have internal payloads of 350-360 kg. They quite literally carry the same class of avionics. In fact, Rustom 2's avionics are more advanced compared to the Reaper, 'cause it's newer. Both aircraft are designed to operationally fly at the same altitude as well.
ADE sucking at their job is a different story altogether. However a smaller Archer-NG has superceded Rustom 2.
There is an exact replica of the Reaper as well, it's simply called HALE, run by both ADE and HAL. And this one has the same weapons carrying capacity as the Reaper, but again, carries pretty much the same avionics. It just flies more.
Oh I thought issues with the program was only my uninformed opinion
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Oh I thought issues with the program was only my uninformed opinion
What does issues with the program have anything to do with what I said? Failure or not, it's still a Reaper without weapons. And if it succeeded, it would still be a Reaper without weapons. There's quite literally no relation here.
There is nothing to argue with a person who insists on calling a failed project more advanced than a proven and larger class of UAV in every specification. It is not even a fair comparison.
I was pointing out the part that you ignored. Giving confident statements about the future is easy, but following up is not.