Government sources said on Monday that the Indian military is going to buy 97 drones that were made in India to keep an eye on the borders with China and Pakistan.
After deciding to buy 31 Predator drones from the US, India is now working on the ‘Make-in-India’ project to get 97 highly capable drones.
“The defense forces worked together on a scientific study, and it was found that 97 Medium Altitude Long Endurance drones would be needed to meet the requirements for keeping an eye on both land and sea.”
Government sources say that the Indian Air Force will be in charge of buying these drones for Thailand, which will cost over Rs 10,000 crore. They will also get the most of these robotic aerial vehicles, which will be able to fly for close to 30 hours at a time.
The three forces already have a fleet of more than 46 Heron UAVs that they have bought over the years. The new drones would be added to those fleets.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited will work with the original equipment makers to improve the capabilities of the drones that are already in use. They will do this through the ‘Make-in-India’ route, which means that they will have to improve the drones’ abilities in India using more than 60% Indian content.
India recently chose to buy 31 High Altitude Long Endurance Predator drones. These drones would be used to keep an eye on large areas of interest to India.
