Indian Military UAV Procurement Programs : General Discussions

If anything maybe buy more Herons under emergency procurement. No need for RQ11. Pakistan itself operates this system and it's past its prime , now almost 2 decades old. Countries like Thailand and East European countries are now having their own small UAVs in this segment. We can certainly develop an alternative at home and buy it in large numbers.
 
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Ankit Kumar said:
If anything maybe buy more Herons under emergency procurement. No need for RQ11. Pakistan itself operates this system and it's past its prime , now almost 2 decades old. Countries like Thailand and East European countries are now having their own small UAVs in this segment. We can certainly develop an alternative at home and buy it in large numbers.
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There are a sizeable number of private players offering already. Few years of trials it would be ready but this is IA .
🤷‍♂️
 
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Ankit Kumar said:
If anything maybe buy more Herons under emergency procurement. No need for RQ11. Pakistan itself operates this system and it's past its prime , now almost 2 decades old. Countries like Thailand and East European countries are now having their own small UAVs in this segment. We can certainly develop an alternative at home and buy it in large numbers.
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Bro it's Indian army they love to import everything even if indegeneous options are available.
https://twitter.com/x/status/1282677556940959744
https://twitter.com/x/status/1282665109714657281
 
Chain Smoker said:
Bro it's Indian army they love to import everything even if indegeneous options are available.
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There are people everywhere who are not 100% clean, Army canteens, cantonment areas, etc etc. Even in procurement process, people are biased towards a particular system for various reasons. But the decision is not taken by just 1 person. So be assured that the decision coming out from Armed forces is usually the most balanced one.

This news is a result of a segments doing. But it won't automatically happen.
 
_Anonymous_ said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1282661180960468992

https://twitter.com/x/status/1282669367336087553

Jab gxxnd lagi fatne, toh prasad lage batne.
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Now this is some false reporting imo. We had modified and reduced the import requirement to 10 such UCAVs for all three forces. So at best it's 10 Sea Guardians and 20 Predators B. Not 30 Sea Guardians.

There's no domestic substitute for us in this category so we shouldn't be surprised of imports in this area. It's a critical requirement which is running atleast 4 years delayed as of today.
 
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Ankit Kumar said:
Now this is some false reporting imo. We had modified and reduced the import requirement to 10 such UCAVs for all three forces. So at best it's 10 Sea Guardians and 20 Predators B. Not 30 Sea Guardians.

There's no domestic substitute for us in this category so we shouldn't be surprised of imports in this area. It's a critical requirement which is running atleast 4 years delayed as of today.
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I was referring to the delay not the components of the deal.
 
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www.aninews.in

Indian forces to acquire Heron drones, Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israel

New Delhi [India], July 14 (ANI): Engaged in a boundary dispute with China in eastern Ladakh, India is planning to enhance its surveillance capabilities and firepower by placing orders for Heron surveillance drones and Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israel under the emergency financial...
www.aninews.in www.aninews.in

Heron is attrition replacement probably.

www.livefistdefence.com

Another Import, Or Will Army Choose Indian Infantry Drone?

The Indian Army is yet to choose between two Made-in-India infantry drones for troops in the field.
www.livefistdefence.com www.livefistdefence.com
 
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randomradio said:
@Falcon

You were hoping we buy some Fireflies.
FireflyRafael.jpg


www.oneindia.com

Indian Army set to get meaner with acquisition of Ravens and Spike Firefly

The Army is looking to acquire the Raven from the United States and the Spike Firefly from Israel. This comes in the wake of the Indian Air Force set to get the Refale jets from Paris later this month.
www.oneindia.com www.oneindia.com
The Army is looking to acquire the Raven from the United States and the Spike Firefly from Israel.
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Excellent bit of news.


This will be a potent enabler for specific clearing operations, especially along LC and LAC (should GoI decide that the PLA needs to be evicted from fingers area along the lake).
 
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Falcon said:
Excellent bit of news.


This will be a potent enabler for specific clearing operations, especially along LC and LAC (should GoI decide that the PLA needs to be evicted from fingers area along the lake).
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I hope the procurement is in large numbers though.

We have this bad habit of buying less than required.

Bits of other information about the drone.
www.theweek.in

Why Indian Army is eyeing a mini ‘suicide drone’ from Israel

A loitering munition is a UAV that carries a warhead to attack a target on the ground
www.theweek.in www.theweek.in
In comparison, the FireFly drone has a total weight of 3kg, with a 350gm warhead, according to a Rafael brochure. The FireFly has two sets of rotors. Rafael claims a kit comprising 3 FireFly loitering munitions and their associated equipment weighs 15kg. The use of rotors, like a helicopter, negates the need for catapults or launch rockets to get the UAV airborne.

The FireFly can fit in a backpack. The battery-powered Firefly can conduct both surveillance and attack missions and can thus be recovered after use. According to Rafael, it has an endurance of 15 minutes when carrying a warhead. The endurance can be doubled if the warhead is replaced with a second battery.

The FireFly has a publicised range of 500metres for urban combat and a range of 1,000 metres for open areas. The FireFly can be controlled by a datalink by a soldier who has a tablet.
 
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TOI was the first to report last year that India had finalized the plan to acquire 30 Predator-B drones, 10 each for the Army, Navy and IAF, with different payloads to hunt and destroy targets over land and sea. But the high cost of the deal, upwards of $3.5 billion, has somewhat delayed the inking of the final contract.
“The original plan for the 30 Predators will take some more time. Meanwhile, the utilization of the fast-track procurement (FTP) route for acquiring six of these drones – two each for the three Services – is now under active consideration,” said another source.
It will be a huge jump in unmanned lethal capability for the armed forces if the “hunter-killer” Sea Guardians, with their advanced ground control stations, launch and recovery elements, air-to-ground missiles, smart bombs and the like, are actually acquired by India.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft: India moves to buy 6 more Poseidons from US for $1.8bn | India News - Times of India

India News: India has formally kicked off the acquisition process for six more long-range Poseidon-8I aircraft from the US, while a plan is also underway for fast
timesofindia.indiatimes.com timesofindia.indiatimes.com
 
Milspec said:
Was at the park with my dog, and a few kids were flying some quadcopters. I was thinking how difficult it would be to shoot these hihgly agile drones with small arms, and how these could be significantly useful as anti-personnel devices with a small shaped charge on them. Even like an actual missile or even a large UAV dropping a swarm on top of infantry or a mechanized column, a bunch of miniature kamikaze drones could wreak havoc.
Similarly Wheeled drones carrying shaped charge which sit dormant on the desert floor and can get activated when it sees a hostile vehicles moving, essentially becoming adaptive smart mines.
There is a lot of lethality to leverage from drones, I hope the services are paying attention.
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We bought these.
 
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zapper said:
Is it confirmed? since the news came out in July that IA is interested in these but no official confirmation yet. Nevertheless, I don't expect them to be delivered until next year
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It's not clear which of the stuff under emergency procurement have been already signed. But these drones are pretty simple, it won't take a year for delivery. Plus it doesn't say if the order will be procured from Israel's existing stock or a mix of existing and new.

No use in speculating such things at this point in time.
 
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