Army to procure 750 hi-tech drones for precision strikes along LoC, LAC

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, October 25

The Indian Army’s special forces — the ones mandated to operate behind enemy lines — are looking for specialised drones that can provide 3D imagery of the terrain to launch operations.

The Ministry of Defence on Tuesday came out with the request for proposal (RFP) for such UAVs which will be processed as per the fast-track procurement procedure under the “emergency procurement”.

The RFP is part of the tendering process seeking commercial and technical bids from suppliers. Some 750 such drones are needed. “The current volatile situation along the northern borders warrants expeditious procurement of operational equipment,” the RFP document said. The Army is looking for UAVs that can provide round-the-clock surveillance with ability to scan the target area and provide a processed 3D scanned image of the target to execute special missions. The MoD wants to keep out any Chinese parts and has asked the vendor to provide NATO stock number (NSN) for each item provided by a foreign maker.

This equipment will be deployed for situational awareness and short-range surveillance that will enable the special forces to execute pin-point precision strikes during direct action tasks. The Army wants the UAV to be about 2 kg in weight and be operable by one person. The UAV needs to have an endurance of 30 minutes and be able to operate indoors and in GPS-denied areas.

No Chinese parts

• UAVs needed for round-the-clock surveillance with ability to scan target area, provide processed 3D scanned image of target
• MoD wants to keep out Chinese parts and asked vendor to provide NSN for every item from foreign maker