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INAS 342 – The Flying Sentinels | Indian Army | Indian Air Force | Indian Navy | Indian Aviation Core | Indian Defence Forces

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The Indian Navy , over the decades, has progressively evolved as a force to reckon with and has its share of watershed moments. The induction of the air element was one such when the first air station , INS Garuda , was commissioned at Kochi on 11 May 1953. This impetus given to our reconnaissance capability was repeated at Garuda when a completely revolutionary concept, the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle , was launched into the skies! To search, locate, and track the adversary is the very foundation of maritime warfare. To accomplish this basic objective, both sensors and their vehicles have progressively evolved. Induction of the unmanned air element into maritime reconnaissance is another step towards futuristic warfare. Remote control operations obviate the necessity of a cockpit and other emergency gear. The consequent reduction in size adds to maneuverability and stealth. In the hostile environment of the battlefield , the UAV is the most obvious choice for a sensor-operating platform j
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IAI Searcher | Indian Army | Indian Air Force | Indian Aviation Core | Indian Defence Forces

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The IAI Searcher is a reconnaissance UAV developed in Israel in the 1980s. In the following decade, it replaced the IMI Mastiff and IAI Scout UAVs then in service with the Israeli Army . The Searcher looks almost identical to the Scout and Pioneer but is in fact scaled up and is well over twice the size of the Scout. The Searcher is powered by a 35 kW (47 hp) piston engine. The new design features updated avionics and sensor systems with greater flight endurance as well as increased redundancy for improved survivability. In addition to Israel, the system had been exported and is currently in use by Russia, India , South Korea, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand and Turkey. More than 100 Searcher IIs are being operated by the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy . Specifications (Searcher II) Crew: None Capacity: 68 kg (150 lb) payload Length: 5.85 m (19 ft 2 in) Wingspan: 8.54 m (28 ft 0 in) Height: 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in) Gross weight: 500 kg (1,100 lb) Powerplant: 1 × Limbach L 550 , 35 k
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Heron IAI | Indian Army | Indian Air Force | Indian Aviation Core | Indian Defence Forces

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The IAI Heron (Machatz-1) is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by the Malat (UAV) division of Israel Aerospace Industries. It is capable of Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) operations of up to 52 hours' duration at up to 10.5 km (35,000 ft). It has demonstrated 52 hours of continuous flight, but the effective operational maximal flight duration is less, according to payload and flight profile. An advanced version, the Heron TP , is also known as the IAI Eitan . On 11 September 2005, it was announced that the Israel Defense Forces purchased US$50 million worth of Heron systems. The Heron saw significant use during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza of 2008–2009. During the deployment, each brigade combat team was assigned a UAV squadron for close support. This was the first Israeli operation in which UAVs , helicopters, and fighter jets were allocated to ground forces directly without IAF central command authorizing sorties. Air-support
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Harpy IAI | Indian Army | Indian Air Force | Indian Aviation Core | Indian Defence Forces

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The IAI Harpy is a loitering munition produced by Israel Aerospace Industries. The Harpy is designed to attack radar systems and is optimized for the suppression of enemy air defence (SEAD) role. It carries a high explosive warhead. The Harpy has been sold to several foreign nations, including South Korea, Turkey, India , and China. In 2004, the Harpy became the focus of the effort by the United States to restrict arms transfers and the sales of advanced military technology to China. Sold to China in 1994 for around US$55 million, the loitering munitions were returned to Israel in 2004 under contract to be upgraded. The United States, fearing that the Harpy would pose a threat to Taiwanese and American forces in the case of a war with China, demanded that Israel seize the loitering munitions and nullify the contract. According to Israel, the Harpy is an indigenously designed loitering munitions. It does not contain any US-produced sub-systems. In 2005, the loitering munitions w
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Harop IAI | Indian Army | Indian Air Force | Indian Aviation Core | Indian Defence Forces

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  Harop is a loitering munition (LM) system developed in Israel by the MBT missiles division of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Harop is a loitering munition (LM) system developed in Israel by the MBT missiles division of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The unmanned combat aerial vehicle is also known as the Harpy-2 loitering munitions missile. The drone loiters over the battlefield and attacks the targets by self-destructing into them. The Harop unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) has been developed from the Harpy unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), also developed by the IAI. This combat drone was unveiled in India at the Aero-India show in February 2009. In September 2009, the Indian Air Force ( IAF ) purchased ten Harops from IAI under a $100m contract. The Harop system consists of the munition units, transportable launchers, and a mission control shelter, which provides real-time access to control the Harop by a man-in-the-loop. Unlike other UCAVs that carry explosive warhea
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DRDO Rustom 1 & 2 | Indian Army | Indian Air Force | Indian Aviation Core | Indian Defence Forces

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The DRDO Rustom is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance unmanned air vehicle (UAV) being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation for the three services, Indian Army , Indian Navy , and the Indian Air Force of the Indian Armed Forces . Rustom is derived from the NAL's LCRA (Light Canard Research Aircraft) developed by a team under the leadership of late Prof Rustom Damania in the 1980s. The UAV will have structural changes and a new engine. Rustom will replace/supplement the Heron UAVs in service with the Indian armed forces . The Indian government has allowed the development of the Rustom MALE UAV project in association with a production agency cum development partner (PADP). The ADE officials indicated that the requests for proposals (RFP) would shortly be issued to four vendors which are the Tata Power Strategic Engineering Division, Larsen & Toubro Limited, Godrej Aerospace Limited, and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited-Bharat Electronics Limited (joint
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Cheetah Helicopters | Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama | Indian Army | Indian Air Force | Indian Aviation Core | Indian Defence Forces

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The Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama is a French single-engined helicopter developed to meet hot and high operational requirements of the Indian Armed Forces . It combines the lighter Aérospatiale Alouette II air frame with Alouette III components and powerplant. The Lama possesses exceptional high altitude performance. The helicopters have been built under licence by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in India , known as the Cheetah , HAL later developed an upgraded variant, powered by the Turbomeca TM 333-2M2 engine, which is known as the Cheetal . An armed version, marketed as the Lancer, was also produced by HAL. It was also built under licence by Helibras in Brazil as the Gavião. A significant number of SA 315B Lamas were manufactured under licence in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited ( HAL ), under the name Cheetah. More than three decades after production in India began, HAL was still receiving export orders for the original Cheetah. Along with the Alouette III, the Cheetah
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