Four Israel-made Heron drones have been deployed along the LAC

In a major boost to its capabilities, the Indian Army has deployed 4 Heron drones from Israel to keep a close eye on China’s movements in the Ladakh sector. Following China’s attempts to alter the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), India increased its deployment of troops after April 2020.

The four drones were deployed along the LAC in Ladakh for surveillance, top government sources told India Today. The four new drones are more advanced than the ones in the inventory of the force presently. The anti-jamming capability of the advanced drones is much better than their previous versions, sources said.

The drones were acquired under the emergency financial powers granted by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government to the defence forces, sources said. The Indian forces will soon acquire the Predator drones from the US, which will further boost the unmanned surveillance and strike capabilities of the country.

In the pipeline for a few years, India is close to acquiring 30 Predator drones worth around Rs 21,000 crore from the United States.