The Indian Army is interested in purchasing advanced UAS

The Indian army is interested in purchasing advanced UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) to strengthen its Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities and improve the effectiveness of its military operations.

More specifically, the army is waiting for vendors to respond to a Request For Information (RFI) for 60 short-range UAVs that can operate for 10 hours at 15.000 feet, and 120 HALE (High Altitude and Long Endurance) UAVs that can operate for 30 hours at 60.000 feet.

The Indian army’s existing unmanned systems’ fleet comprises Heron MALE (Medium Altitude and Long Endurance) UAVs, and the smaller Searcher Mark II tactical UAVs, both built by IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries).

Elbit Systems / Hermes® 900 UAS

The Hermes 900 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) designed and built by Elbit Systems, made its first flight December 9, 2009 in the northern Negev desert. Unlike other Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV systems, such as the MQ-1 Predator, MQ-9 Reaper and Heron I, the Hermes 900 can be operated as part of existing, tactical UAV units currently operating the smaller Hermes 450, dramatically extending mission endurance, payload capacity and operational capabilities, without fielding additional infrastructure and support.

Russian Defense Ministry Unveils $9B UAV Program

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has announced a program to spend about 320 billion rubles (US $9 billion) by 2020 on military UAVs.

The latest move follows last year’s announcement by Russian President Vladimir Putin that UAVs are a vital area of development in modern aviation, and that Russia needs to develop a wide range of drones, including combat and reconnaissance variants.

The Russian military is set to test the Yabhon United 40 MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance) UAV built by the United Arab Emirates’ Adcom Systems. Other foreign-based companies to supply drones to Russia include IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries), which delivered 12 UAVs to the military under a deal inked in 2009. 

Netherlands selects MQ-9 Reaper

The Netherlands is to purchase four General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and related ground stations, the Dutch Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 21 November.

The first Reaper should be fully operational in 2016, the last the following year. As opposed to MQ-9/RQ-9 Reapers in service with the US Air Force and the UK Royal Air Force, the Dutch version will not be armed, although this could change in the future "with a minimum of modification", the MoD stated.

The Reaper was the only system available, the MoD said, that met its requirement to conduct surveillance-missions with an endurance "exceeding 24 hours". The sensor load will be as standard for the platform:

• EOIR
• SAR
• GMT

but will also include a special Dutch requirement to equip the UAVs with "a ground and surface radar with larger coverage" than standard and a specialised SIGINT pack.

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Algeria shows interest in Yabhon

Algeria is considering the Adcom Systems Yabhon United 40 Block 5 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to fulfill its Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) requirement, a company official said at the Dubai Air Show 2013.

The North African country is looking for an Unmanned Platform to track militants and traffickers in its vast southern desert regions, and while Algerian media has previously revealed that the air force is interested in the US-made General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GAASI) Predator/Reaper platform, this is the first time the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-developed Yabhon United 40 Block 5 has been touted as a possible candidate.

The Algerian Air Force does currently operate the Denel Dynamics Seeker UAV, and the Denel Seeker 400 and Selex Falco have also been touted as potential candidates. The two Yabhon United 40 Block 5 UAVs displayed at the show (both of which have been built for unspecified customers) were shown fitted with four Adcom Systems Namrod stand-off missiles (two under each wing), and two torpedoes on the centreline hardpoints (which can be equipped with a company-made wing-kit for enhanced stand-off capabilities). The internal rotating dispenser can drop munitions or 24 sonobouys.

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