BENGALURU: The focus of many domestic and international firms that are taking part in the ongoing aerospace exposition Aero India 2017 is clearly on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) that are considered to be future weapons for multiple missions.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles that are playing a vital role in low-intensity conflicts and wars in many parts of the world are an important part of the overall strategy of the Indian armed forces. UAV makers see a good market for such vehicles that are also used for destroying targets in enemy territories apart from their primary work of gathering information and relaying it to designated bases in real time.
Speaking to Express, Shalom Revivo, Director (sales and marketing), Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) said, “It is the beginning. Unmanned vehicles have a bigger role in land, air and water. The market for UAVs and UASes are in billions of dollars. The warfare in future can go beyond imagination. During Aero India-2017, we have made a co-operation agreement with Dynamatic Technologies Ltd (DTL) of Bengaluru for the production, assembly and support of mini-UAVs in India.”
Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) chairman Christopher S said, “We are preparing a policy document on the unmanned capability to be provided to defence services. Unmanned vehicles are the order of the day. We need to create them for air, ground and underwater.”
“In the future, you may have to sit in drawing rooms and fight wars,” he added.
Currently, Indian defence forces are operating Israeli-made Searcher Mark-I and Mark-II, Heron and Herop UAVs and the Indian-made Nishant. In the ongoing edition of Aero India, DRDO is displaying its capabilities in making UAVs. Many foreign firms such as IAI, Safran of France and USA-based Textron Systems too are here with their technology and systems.