UAVs in India

The new dimension of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been in the news for some time, especially with the US reportedly offering India an armed version of the Guardian drone. Meanwhile, India’s first private sector UAV manufacturing facility is being set up in Hyderabad, even as five UAV types are operated by the Indian Armed Forces, including those indigenously developed. There are currently three UAV Squadrons operational with the Indian Navy, which are majorly contributing to Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) in the IN’s area of responsibility.

As has been in the news for sometime, the United States has reportedly offered India an armed version of the Guardian drone that were originally authorised for sale unarmed, only for surveillance purposes. According to a senior US official, if the deal comes to fruition, this would be the first time Washington has sold such armed drones to a country outside the NATO alliance and would certainly be the first high-tech unmanned aircraft in this region.

In April 2018, President Donald Trump’s administration had announced a long-awaited overhaul of US arms export policy aimed at expanding sales to allies, in that “it would bolster the American defence industry and create jobs at home”. The plan included a new drone export policy that allowed lethal drones that could fire missiles, and surveillance drones of all sizes, to be more widely available to allies. Last June, General Atomics said the US government had approved sale of a naval variant of the drone : India has been in discussions to buy 22 of the unarmed surveillance aircraft, MQ-9B SeaGuardian, worth more than $2 billion. Besides potentially including the armed version of the drone, the sources said the number of aircraft had also changed.

An Indian defence source said that the military wanted a drone not just for surveillance but also to be able to eliminate targets at land and sea, arguing that otherwise “such acquisition was not justified” in buying an unarmed drone. However, the cost and integration of the weapons system are still open issues, as well as Indian assent to the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) which Washington insists on as a condition for operating such advanced defence systems.

US drone manufacturers, facing growing competition, especially from Chinese and Israeli rivals “which have a more relaxed approach” have lobbied hard for the changes in US export rules. Among these will be a more lenient application by the US government of an arms export principle known as “presumption of denial.” This has impeded many drone deals by automatically denying approval unless a compelling security reason is given together with strict buyer agreements to use the weapons in accordance with international law.

The MTCR – a 1987 missile-control pact signed by the United States and 34 other countries – will still require strict export controls on Predator-type drones, which it classifies as Category 1, those with a payload of over 500 kg. However, the Trump administration is seeking to renegotiate the MTCR accord to eventually make it easier to export the larger armed drones.

Meanwhile, India’s first private sector Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) manufacturing facility has been inaugurated at Hyderabad, the facility set up by Adani Defence & Aerospace with Elbit Systems of Israel and inaugurated by Telangana Home Minister Mohammad Mahmood Ali on 14 December 2018. The 50,000 square feet facility is also be the first outside Israel to manufacture Hermes 900 Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAVs. As Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani stated, “Our foray into defence and aerospace has a deep personal significance for me. I want us to be able to look back and reflect that Adani Group did its bit to help build a more self-reliant India, a nation that is second to none in its defence manufacturing capabilities.” The factory will be engaged in manufacturing complete carbon composite aerostructures for the Hermes 900, followed by Hermes 450, aiming at the global market and will be further ramped up for

the assembly and integration of complete UAVs. Apart from the UAV Complex, the Adani Aerospace Park was also inaugurated at Hyderabad.

As Elbit Systems CEO and president Bezhalel Machilis stated, “This facility where the Hermes 900 (MALE) and the Hermes 450-the most advanced UAV systems in the world will be manufactured, is in line with Indian government’s strategic plan and enables us to share our extensive experience in defence systems and benefit from the dedicated Indian workforce as well”.

Interestingly also, the Indian Army has selected the SpyLite mini unmanned air vehicle offered by Cyient Solutions & Systems – a joint venture between local company Cyient and Israel’s BlueBird Aero Systems – for a high- altitude surveillance requirement. On 4 September 2018, the company announced that “the SpyLite was the only candidate to have met the army’s need to perform real-time surveillance and target acquisition tasks during trials performed from 18,000ft above sea level, including in extreme weather conditions”.

This UAV has demonstrated quick operational readiness, from autonomous launch to precision recovery by parachute, during the trials. The activity included supplying real-time video footage by day and night, automatic return and recovery in a “no communication” situation, and the ability for an operator to control the system from a moving ground vehicle. BlueBird chief executive Ronen Nadir says the Indian army requires a highly reliable, low-cost and field-proven UAV with high performance, diverse capabilities and ease of use.

Currently, five Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are operated by the Indian Armed Forces. There is the indigenous Nishant for the Indian Army which UAV, developed by DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment, requires a launching system with catapult technology. This does not have self-propelling ability and recovers with the help of a parachute. The Indian Army has however cancelled further orders of this UAV and there is a decision in fact to phase out the Nishant.

There are three UAVs from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the first of these being the Heron. This is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV, developed by Israel, has a flight time of upto 52 hours, but actual time of flight depends on the payload and flight profile. This has some advanced features for artillery observation and surveillance plus can carry out intelligence tasks. The Harpy from IAI is also employed by the Indian armed forces, and carries a warhead, homing in to destroy radar systems after loitering. This can also carry out suppression of enemy air defences, including surface to air missile sites and anti-aircraft instillations. The Harpy has a maximum speed of 185 km/hr and 500 km range of flight.

The third is IAI’s Searcher UAV which has a speed of 200km/hour and can fly up to 18 hours. Both the Indian Navy and Air Force deploy there for extended reconnaissance (see article).

Then there is the Rustom II, an unmanned combat air vehicle under development by the DRDO and the definitive Rustom II could be manufactured by a yet-to-be-selected private company.