India Looks to Procure Spy Drones to Operate at High Altitudes

New Delhi: 3 Sep2018

The Indian Army is scouting for a remotely piloted aircraft system with anti-jamming and anti-spoofing properties for providing real-time input in the form of imagery and electronic data to detect and combat foreign military formations and activities at forward bases, especially along the border with China.

New Delhi (Sputnik): The Indian Army has launched the procurement process for remotely piloted aircraft system that can operate at a height of over 18,000 feet or 5,500 meters to keep an eye on the activities of China near the loosely demarcated border called Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The details provided in the request for information (RFI) issued on August 31 indicate that the Indian Army wants such a system, which would require only about 30 minutes and two soldiers for complete assembly in posts located at higher altitudes.

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They also need to be equipped with three complete sets of sensor packages with day and night capabilities and two airborne data relays to control the unmanned system beyond the line of sight.

“The mission range should not be less than 10 kilometers, with loiter time of minimum 45 minutes at the maximum range,” the RFI document reads.

As per the document, the Indian Army will come up with a formal tender by April 2019 and manufacturers or vendors should deliver the system by 2020.

The Indian Army has been demanding mini-drones for a long time in order to modernize the infantry. It is believed that every soldier would receive at least one mini-drone that could be used for monitoring the movement of foreign forces.

Courtesy: SputnikNews