India to procure Heron drones, Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israel

New Delhi, July 15: In order to strengthen its surveillance capabilities and firepower, India is preparing to place orders for Heron surveillance drones and Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israel under the emergency financial powers granted by the government. This comes as India is engaged with China in a border dispute in eastern Ladakh.

 

 

Though the Heron unmanned aerial vehicles are already in the Air Force, Navy, and the Army and are being used extensively at the moment by both Army surveillance and Target acquisition batteries and Air Force in the Ladakh sector, there is need for procurement of these UAVs. "There is a need for acquisition of Heron UAVs to add to the existing fleet of these drones for meeting the requirements of our Air Force fleet. We are planning to place orders for these UAVs," government sources told here without specifying the numbers to be procured.

 

The Unmanned aerial vehicle is being used by all the three wings for several years now as 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) and can fly continuously for more than two days. This time, the forces are also working on inducting an armed version of the UAV, as well as upgrading the existing fleet into combat UAVs under the ambitious 'Project Cheetah' spearheaded by the Indian Air Force.

 

On the other hand, the Army is planning to purchase for more Spike anti-tank guided missiles that were received last year from Israel under the emergency financial powers granted to the services post the Balakot airstrikes. Last time, the Army had gone in for 12 launchers and 200 Spike missiles. However, the army is planning to procure more of these anti-tank missiles for tackling any threat from the enemy armored regiments.

 

The defence forces have also initiated requirements for acquiring Spice-2000 bombs, assault rifles, ammunition and missiles, and some platforms for meeting the requirements in case the situation escalates further on the Line of Actual Control.

 

Meanwhile, DRDO is working towards developing the indigenous Man-Portable Anti Tank Guided Missile (MP-ATGM) which will meet the bulk requirement of over 50,000 of these missiles needed by the Infantry units.