The Indian Air Force (IAF) has officially put into service a new hovering weapon called the ALS-50 that was made in India.
The unmanned system was made by the Tata Group, which is based in Mumbai. It is intended to improve the service’s ability to strike with precision on complex missions.
It features a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), which means it can work in any kind of landscape.
The kamikaze drone is flexible and can be changed to attack both land and sea targets as well as air defense systems.
TATA s ALS-50 Loitering Munition has a range of 1000Km and can carry 23Kg payload. pic.twitter.com/Ngu1rYWyGq
— Varun Karthikeyan (@Varun55484761) October 1, 2022
Harpreet Sidhu, an associate researcher at GlobalData, says that the ALS-50’s design makes it easy to use and makes it easier for air force operators to learn how to use it.
“The ALS-50 is different from other loitering weapons on the market because of its unique features,” he said.
“It may not have as far of a range or last as long as some other systems, but it’s cheap, easy to use, and flexible, so it’s a great choice for the IAF.”
Supporting Modernization
With the addition of a new loitering munition, the IAF shows that it wants to help the “Make in India” program grow the local defense industry.
It’s a big step toward modernizing the defense of the country.
GlobalData showed that India’s defense industry is advanced enough to make suicide drones and use artificial intelligence.
It can also help improve swarm technologies to give drones a new level of control.
“The purchase of ALS-50 shows that India is committed to modernizing its military by becoming self-sufficient in defense procurement,” Sidhu said. “It will help improve India’s air power and stop its enemies from being aggressive.”
Influenced by Ukraine War
People say that the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is still going on, has led many countries to invest in similar systems because of how well loitering weapons work.
In December of 2016, a drone attack in Russia’s Kursk area, which was blamed on Ukraine, destroyed an airfield.
Moscow has also used drones to kill people. Last week, a civilian was killed in a “massive” attack on the city of Ukraine.
China is causing more trouble in the Asia-Pacific area, so India, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia are buying more drones.
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