After acquiring Israeli Heron Mk-2 long-range armed drones, the Indian armed forces have now purchased another medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drone — the Hermes 900 Starliner from Israel.
Hermes-900 MALE Drones
All three services have ordered two drones each using emergency procurement powers granted to the forces. The army and navy have ordered two Elbit Systems-manufactured Hermes 900 drones, while the IAF has ordered two Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)-manufactured Heron Mk2 drones. The Elbit Systems Hermes 900 Kochav is an Israeli medium-size, multi-payload, medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle designed for tactical missions. It is a successor to the Hermes 450 series of drones, one of the most widely used military drones in the world.
It is worth noting that the army already operates four Heron Mk2 UAVs, which were ordered in 2021. Two of the army’s Heron Mk2 drones are deployed at Leh in Ladakh, while the other two are deployed in the eastern theater.
The deliveries of these UAVs are expected to be completed by next year.
Women In Army Aviation
The sources further informed that the role of women officers has been steadily increasing in Army Aviation.
“Women officers were first inducted into the Air Traffic Control stream of Army Aviation in May 2009, followed by the posting of Women Officers of the EME as Engineering Officers in Army Aviation Units”.
Presently, two women officers are already serving as pilots in Army Aviation and three are undergoing training.
Project Cheetah
•India is also working on Project Cheetah — a project aimed at weaponizing, upgrading, and adding satellite communication systems — to hundreds of Israeli Heron and Searcher UAVs already in operation with the armed forces.
•This project is estimated to cost approximately Rs 21,000 crore.
MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance UAVs
Among these, the study concerning UAVs has concluded, recommending the acquisition of 31 MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) UAVs and 155 Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAVs.
India-US 5th 2+2 dialogue
The fifth India-US 2 plus 2 Ministerial Dialogue will be held in New Delhi on Friday. Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar will welcome US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin III for the Dialogue. The 2 plus 2 will enable a high-level review of progress being made in cross-cutting aspects of defence and security cooperation, technology value chain collaborations and people-to-people ties.
