NEW DELHI: With warfare moving beyond visual range, drones taking centre stage and helicopter survivability under scrutiny, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has set in motion ‘Vayu Baan’, its first helicopter-dropped drone project, it is learnt.
Sources in the defence establishment said the homegrown project is being led by the IAF’s Directorate of Aerospace Design (DAD) which
issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) earlier this month, inviting bids from domestic vendors for the system’s design and development.
At its core, Vayu Baan will be a small drone deployed from helicopters to navigate autonomously towards its target. Once airborne, it will transmit real-time video to operators and, if required, carry out a precision strike using a small onboard warhead.
“The aim is to let helicopters engage targets from stand-off ranges while reducing risk to aircrew,” a source said. “It will also support both ground and airborne control for flexible mission execution.”
According to sources, the drone is expected to have a range of over 50 km and an endurance of around 30 minutes. Equipped with electro-optical and infrared sensors, it will be capable of surveillance as well as target identification. Importantly, it will continue to operate even if enemy forces jam or disable GPS signals.
The project is on a fast track, with the IAF hoping to complete development, testing and delivery of an initial batch within a year. This will involve helicopter drop trials, payload integration and high-altitude testing before the system is cleared for operational use.
India, with ‘Vayu Baan’, is set to join a select group of countries working on air-launched unmanned systems, which globally remain largely at the demonstration stage.
China, for instance, has showcased air-deployed drone swarms from platforms such as the Xi’an H-6 bomber, but these are yet to see operational deployment.
Similarly, in the United States, the DARPA-led Gremlins programme has demonstrated the launch and mid-air recovery of drone swarms from transport aircraft, while the U.S. Army’s “air-launched effects” effort is progressing towards integration on platforms like the UH-60 Black Hawk and AH-64 Apache.