India to acquire 97 ‘Made-in-India’ drones

Indian Defence Forces are set to acquire 97 ‘Made-in-India’ drones for surveillance purposes along China and Pakistan borders, government sources said on Monday said.After the decision to buy 31 Predator drones from the US, India is now moving towards acquiring 97 highly capable drones under the ‘Make-in-India’ project.
“A scientific study was carried out by the defence forces jointly, and it has been decided that to meet the Medium Altitude Long Endurance requirements, Indian forces would require 97 such drones for keeping an eye on both land and sea,” government sources said.
According to government sources, the lead service for Thai over Rs 10,000 crore procurement of these drones would be the Indian Air Force, as they would also be getting the highest number of these unmanned aerial vehicles, which would be able to fly for close to 30 hours at a stretch.
The drones to be acquired by the forces would be in addition to the existing fleet of over 46 Heron UAVs acquired by the three forces over the years in their respective fleets. The drones that are already in service are going to be upgraded by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in partnership with the original equipment manufacturers through the ‘Make-in-India’ route, where they will have to upgrade their capabilities within the country using over 60 percent Indian content.