In recent years, UAV or drones can now be programmed to destroy things remotely

by Shelley Singh

Something once equivalent of a do-it-yourself kit was enough to blow up half of Saudi Arabia’s crude oil output on September 14. The 18 low-cost drones (along with cruise missiles), supposedly deployed by Houthi rebels in Yemen to attack the Saudi oil facilities, caused oil prices to jump more than 10 per cent in a day.

In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or drones that used to improve our daily lives with logistics and mapping support can now be programmed to destroy things remotely. What makes them lethal and effective for warfare are advancements in video-camera techniques, precision operations with improved GPS, stealth operations and faster speed. In fact, capability improvements can be seen from India’s own drone procurement and manufacturing.

Back in the 1990s, the Indian Army bought Israeli drones for recce and surveillance. But this year, an order was placed for more than 50 Harop attack drones from Israel. Meanwhile, state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and a clutch of private Indian companies are making drones and developing UAV technologies.

ALL About Military Drone
Iran Shahed_agencies
Iran's Shahed-129 and Qasef-1 drones

TECH

The software is like an auto pilot linked to onboard motors, propellers, payload activators and weapons

TASK

Security, surveillance, attack

SPEED
Mach* 0.18 (222 kmph)-

Mach 1 (1,234 kmph)

*Ratio of a drone’s speed to speed of sound

PRICE
Rs 50 lakh+

China's Wing Loong 1

RUNS ON

Lithium polymer batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, jet fuel

Drones Faster Than Sound?

China's Wing Loong 1

Companies are developing hypersonic weapons — missiles that can dodge air defence system by flying up to five times faster than sound. Thus, combat drones moving at hypersonic speeds (beyond Mach 5) could bypass detection systems making them more lethal

India has a fleet of around 100 drones and it plans to add 54 Harop attack drones from Israel to enhance unmanned warfare capability. These drones have electro-optical sensors to loiter over high-value military targets like surveillance bases and radar stations before attacking them.


Project Rustom

DRDO is developing MALE drones that can travel at 200 kmph and fly at altitudes of 6,000-10,000 feet

Types
MALE or Medium Altitude Long Endurance drone:
Can fly up to an altitude of 30,000 feet and travel over 200 km

HALE or High Altitude Long Endurance drone:
Can go beyond 30,000 feet and has a range of a few thousand

Flying Business

Likely size of Indian UAV market by 2021

$886 million

Estimated global size of market by 2021
$21 billion

Global market for drone applications by 2020
$100 billion

No. of drones operating illegally in India before 2018 rules
50,000

No. of Indian firms in drone business
>50