Indian Navy Eyes Domestic Medium Altitude Drones for Cost-Effective Surveillance, Complementing P-8I and MQ-9B Capabilities

The Indian Navy is actively seeking to expand its fleet of Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), with a particular focus on indigenously developed platforms.

This initiative aims to enhance the Navy's maritime surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities while reducing the operational burden on its existing Boeing P-8I Poseidon aircraft.

The Navy's interest in MALE UAVs is driven by the need for persistent surveillance over vast stretches of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). While the P-8I Poseidon fleet has been instrumental in monitoring the region, these aircraft are expensive to operate and maintain.

MALE UAVs offer a cost-effective solution for continuous coverage of critical areas, supporting anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and intelligence gathering operations. Their ability to loiter for extended periods provides a significant advantage over manned aircraft in these missions.

Furthermore, operating UAVs is generally less expensive than their manned counterparts, requiring less fuel and no onboard crew. This translates to increased surveillance hours at a reduced cost. By prioritizing locally developed UAVs, the Navy also aligns with India's "Make in India" initiative, promoting self-reliance in defence manufacturing and ensuring that the technology meets the specific needs of the Indian military.

This pursuit of MALE UAVs complements the Navy's recent acquisition of MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones from the United States. While the MQ-9Bs excel in high-altitude, long-endurance missions, the MALE UAVs will fill a crucial gap in medium-altitude, medium-range operations.

The Navy envisions a comprehensive surveillance network with a mix of platforms operating at different altitudes to maximize coverage and effectiveness.

Currently, DRDO's Tapas UAV is a contender for fulfilling the Navy's MALE UAV requirement. However, the Tapas has faced challenges in meeting the Navy's stringent performance expectations, particularly in endurance and altitude.

Another potential candidate is the Drishti 10 Starliner, developed by Adani Defence and Aerospace in collaboration with Israel. While promising, recent incidents, including a crash during trials, have raised concerns about its reliability.

The Navy's pursuit of indigenous MALE UAVs underscores its commitment to strengthening its surveillance capabilities in the IOR. By diversifying its aerial assets and investing in local defence technology, the Navy aims to maintain a vigilant presence in the region and safeguard India's maritime interests.

 

[abhinav srivastava]

Drishti, how come it is a local endeavor? It's imported, renamed, and screwdrivered.

 

[Kira]

Drishti, how come it is a local endeavor? It's imported, renamed, and screwdrivered.

It's better than domestic failed PSU projects like Rudra/Tapas and better than directly importing from the US or Israel.
Remember something is always better than nothing,private sector firms have just joined defence industry only recently and they will take time of their own to learn the ropes and produce their own products.
After all, HAL has learnt nothing from decades of assembling and production of foreign designs,give the private sector atleast a decade or two to develop their own gear.
Assembling things is just s stepping stone to greater success in the future.

 

[Bhishma]

Drishti, how come it is a local endeavor? It's imported, renamed, and screwdrivered.

Its license produced. It means they can do software patches to talk to our sats instead of Israeli sats. They are not misrepresenting anything.

 

[Bhishma]

The Navy needs to state, for 100 missions, how many missions Tapas can fulfill. If they say it's 10%, then they need to get 10% Tapas and the remaining elsewhere. My guess is Tapas should be fulfilling 90%. Then get 90% Tapas and shop 10% elsewhere. If you are just going to monitor the coastline 200km from the shore, you don't need a 30-hour drone. A locally produced 20-hour drone will do the job just as well. You take off from Gujarat and land in Kanyakumari. If you need a 30-hour drone that flies from Gujarat to Oman, then get a foreign drone. But if you say 100% of the missions will need a 30-hour drone, that is where the problem is.

 

[Sandeep]

India is developing the Archer NG which is an armed drone but it can still carry out ISTAR missions which will solve and address the large requirement of the entire military requirement.

We shouldn’t buy or license manufacture any foreign drones. The recent Hermes drone has serious problems with regular SATCOM loss, range and flight time shorter than claimed.

 

[Enforcer]

Drones are a good and cheap option to save engine and airframe life of expensive aircraft. But I cannot stress enough how important the P-8I is to India's capabilities. There is definitely a need for 4-6 more aircraft. Please order more and SOONER!