Amidst the rising deployment of drones for surveillance, logistics support and even attack, India has developed an effective counter-technology. This is along with the multiple types of drones being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
As per the report recently tabled by a parliamentary standing committee, the DRDO “is developing an indigenous counter-drone technology, which is capable of counterattacks including detection, soft kill and hard kill of all types of drones.”
Anti-drone technology is where the focus should be, and in that, DRDO is working very closely with the industry. We are also doing a lot of R&D for anti-drone protection against these types of drones.
The work on meeting the rising demand for different types of drones is also being carried out, including micro-drones. The Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle TAPAS developed for ISTAR (Intelligence in Surveillance, Reconnaissance And Target Acquisition) application is in the advanced stage of developmental trials.
Short Range Armed UAV Archer is being developed for reconnaissance, surveillance and low-intensity conflict. “Developmental flight trials are under progress,” said a DRDO statement.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary committee report also talks about delays in projects by the DRDO. Of the 55 projects, 23 were not completed within the stipulated time.
TAPAS-BH is a MALE UAV with an operating altitude of 30000 ft, endurance of 24 hrs with EO & SAR payloads and a range of 250 kms.
It can carry a variety of payloads up to a maximum of 350 kgs. Rustom-2 is a platform designed to perform Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance missions for Indian Armed Forces.
Its mission requirements are to provide continuous wide area coverage and yet be able to identify small targets. Rustom-II is comparable in the same class as IAI’s HERON.
