The era of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in India began in 1996 with the induction by the Indian Army of the Searcher Mk I, a tactical surveillance platform manufactured by the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Navy followed suit graduating to more advanced UAVs such as the Searcher Mk II and the Heron medium altitude long endurance (MALE) UAV, both from IAI. All three wings of the Indian armed forces now operate the Heron and the Searcher Mk II in varying numbers. In the regime of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) the only platform that India possesses is the Harop loitering munition system. Designed, developed and manufactured by IAI, the Harop is currently under induction into the IAF. This UCAV is designed to loiter in the vicinity of the battlefield and detect pulses typical of radars and missile guidance systems, then self-destruct into one of them.

The Heron with a wingspan of 16.6 m, maximum take-off weight of 1,250 kg and payload of 250 kg is India’s largest and most capable UAV. It has an endurance of over 40 hours and a range of 3,000 km, depending on payload. It can carry a day-and-night video camera or maritime search radar. It cruises at 100 kmph and has a ceiling of 10 km. It is very similar in cost and performance to the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator used by the United States Air Force. The Searcher Mk II weighs 500 kg and carries just 68 kg. It has an endurance of 18 hours and a ceiling of 6,100 m.

Indigenous Effort

For several years now, the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been engaged in developing indigenous unmanned capability. However, the only operational UAV it has produced thus far is the Nishant which was developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment, an organisation under the DRDO. The Nishant is launched by a mobile hydro-pneumatic launcher and is recovered by parachute. Weighing 380 kg, it has a service ceiling of 3,600 m, cruising speed of 150 kmph, an operational range of 160 km and endurance of 4.5 hours. The Nishant is operational in the Indian Army.

Another DRDO product under development for several years is the Rustom-1 MALE UAV. Efforts are on to integrate the Helina, the air-launched version of the Nag anti-tank missile, with it making the Rustom-1 the country’s first indigenous UCAV. More keenly awaited is the Rustom-H or Rustom-2 MALE UAV, designed to replace the Heron as the mainstay of India’s UAV fleet. Rustom-2 has a wingspan of 21 m, payload of 350 kg and endurance of over 24 hours. It takes off and lands using a conventional undercarriage. DRDO is however facing hurdles in procurement of critical components including sensors and engines from foreign sources due to the Missile Technology Control Regime that limit the sale of certain unmanned systems and related technologies. The Rustom-2 is ultimately supposed to be armed, subject to several more years of development and weapon release trials planned for 2017. Perhaps another decade into the future is DRDO’s Aura, a stealthy flying wing that is presently in the preliminary design phase. It is an autonomous UCAV for the IAF and will carry smart weapons.

Market Prospects in India

Even during peacetime, the requirements of intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance (ISR) are huge and growing. The country’s long borders with not-so-friendly neighbours and vulnerable coastline must be kept under close surveillance. UAVs are already in great demand in Jammu and Kashmir and along the Sino-Indian border to detect intrusion, but they are not nearly enough to cover the entire area. Even within the country, UAVs are sorely needed to track insurgents in Naxal-affected areas and guide the security forces. Clearly the country is falling behind in the race to develop or induct enough UAVs for its current needs, leave alone future requirements. On the other hand China’s UAV development effort is amazing. With over a dozen projects in various stages of execution, China has made unmanned technology a high-priority area. It has developed, tested and demonstrated stealthy ISR UAVs of the HALE and MALE class. It even has a UCAV technology demonstrator. And China’s close ties with Pakistan mean that Pakistan’s requirements will be expeditiously met.

The pace of UAV acquisitions by India is likely to quicken over the next five years and the size of the Indian market is estimated at over $2 billion. According to an analyst of the Teal Group, quoted in the Times of India last year, “We see a growing market in India — 50 MALE UAVs, 60 Navy UAVs, 70 Air Force tactical UAVs, 100 Army tactical UAVs and 980 mini-UAVs over the next decade.” Indeed, the armed forces need UAVs of varying size and performance to meet requirements like border surveillance, communications and weapon delivery. The Indian Navy is in search of MALE UAVs and ship-borne rotary-wing UAVs to enhance its short-range capability. The Indian Army plans to augment its existing fleet of Searcher Mk II UAVs and procure hundreds of mini-UAVs to keep a close watch on the borders with Pakistan and China. The IAF would like to bolster its MALE UAV holdings and is particularly keen to acquire UCAVs.

India’s paramilitary forces also wish to create their own UAV units for dedicated internal security duties. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) already has a small fleet of Netra mini-VTOL surveillance systems for intelligence gathering. Netra, a quad-copter UAV, was developed by DRDO and is produced by Mumbai-based private firm ideaForge. It weighs only 1.5 kg and is man-portable. After take-off, it can fly a distance of 2.5 km at an altitude of 200 m. The CRPF is keen to acquire larger fixed-wing UAVs for use in Naxal-affected areas. Although UAVs haven’t proved particularly useful in penetrating the dense foliage of the tropical rainforests, DRDO is working to resolve the issue and hopes to have a solution soon.

The Border Security Force (BSF) also wishes to acquire its own UAVs to monitor the Western sector. And the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) needs UAVs for coastal and offshore surveillance, especially on the Western seaboard which has become a major focus area following 26/11 terror attack. Even police forces desire these devices for crowd monitoring and disaster management. However, as demands for UAVs multiply, the danger is that each service will function in isolation. There is urgent need to synergise procurement efforts among the three services and perhaps even paramilitary and police forces, so as to avoid needless overlap and wastage of scarce resources. Even second and third line maintenance facilities can be shared to avoid wasteful expenditure.

Global Suppliers

Ideally, the country’s UAV requirements should be met by domestic production. But the list of failed indigenous military product programmes is long and it seems fairly certain that India will continue to import UAVs for many more years. Israel currently is the main source of India’s military UAVs. Since Israel is willing to supply advanced systems and has even offered joint development and production of some UAVs, there is need to keep track of their latest offerings. For instance, in early 2014, IAI rolled out the Super Heron, a heavier model with a more powerful engine than the Heron. Its enhanced payload and endurance also facilitate long-duration maritime patrol missions.

But India should not be tied to a single supplier. Therefore it could also consider the Elbit Systems Hermes 900 MALE UAV that has weight of 1,100 kg, payload capacity of 300 kg, cruising speed of 112 kmph and endurance of 36 hours. All large Israeli UAVs are capable of carrying weapons and although not publicly acknowledged, they probably use them for armed attacks.

The other major supplier of high-end UAVs is the US, the country with the most advanced military technology in the world. The vast areas that India’s military must keep under constant surveillance certainly need capable systems like the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk. The Indian Navy too has an extensive ocean area to patrol and would love to have the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton operating in conjunction with its fleet of eight Boeing P-8I Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. However, the chances of India getting the most advanced systems it wants from the US without being subjected to irksome restrictions are remote. Hopefully, after the recent visit to the US by Prime Minister Modi, the situation may change for the better.

Future Course

UAVs are in great demand as these neither risk a pilot’s life nor are subject to physiological limitations. They are also cheaper than manned aircraft. But in view of their shortcomings, they are unlikely to completely replace manned aircraft in a hurry. UAVs are complex systems, usually less reliable than manned aircraft and prone to accidents. Since they cannot detect most ground and airborne threats, they may never be fully dependable in all types of operational situations. They neither have self-protection nor quick getaway capability. While their feats may seem impressive, they have never been tested in combat involving evenly matched adversaries. Rather, they have mostly been employed by overwhelmingly superior military powers like the US and Israel in asymmetric operations against terrorist outfits that do not possess air capability worth the name. The story would be quite different in an India versus China situation.

UAVs can be a true game-changer and can influence the outcome of future conflicts. At present, India’s military UAV requirements are being only partially met vis-à-vis the country’s immense needs and there’s plenty of scope for new inductions. The DRDO must put UAVs on the fast track and produce a range of capable models so that the armed and paramilitary forces may reduce their crippling dependence on imports.