CSIR- National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bangalore, India is one of the premier laboratories under Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, an autonomous body under Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (Government of India), New Delhi.

CSIR-NAL is a Science and Knowledge based Research, Development and Consulting Organization. It is internationally known for its excellence in Scientific Research in Aerospace Engineering and other disciplines.

A RFP is invited to receive proposals in Two-Stage Bid (Technical & Commercial) at CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL) for “Joint Collaboration in R&D, Manufacturing and Commercialization of 150 kgs Category Loitering Munition” from the Indian aerospace and allied engineering companies.

Loitering munition (LM) UAVs have become popular in the recent conflicts all over the world due their distinct advantages over the missiles and other aircraft. These UAVs combine the features of both UAVs and missiles. As loitering munitions can loiter around a particular area in the enemy territory for a long duration till they detect the targets. Role of Loitering Munition UAVs in the suppression of enemy defence has been proven in the recent past.

As per the published news articles, India has recognized the role of LMs in the operational/tactical battlespace and is gearing up to induct approximately 1000 LM UAVsvto meet immediate operational requirements. The Air Force has already begun the induction of LMs HAROP LM UAVs manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

Indian armed forces are also encouraging Indian defence industry under Make-II projects to take up similar projects. Motive behind this proposal is to develop indigenous LM UAV to replace the foreign imports.

In the proposed development, the Loitering Munition UAV is going to be powered by CSIR-NAL developed Wankel engine. The indigenous LM UAV shall be designed to carry an approximately 15 kgs of warhead and 10-15 kgs of suitable sensing payloads.

It is aimed to have contemporary performance characteristics such as loitering endurance of 6 – 9 hours with a maximum range of 900 Kms. The overall weight of the LM UAV to be restricted below 150 Kgs.

Proposed Key Features of 150Kg LM-UAV

Maximum Range: 900 Kms
Maximum Endurance: 9 Hours
Maximum Altitude: 5 Kms
Maximum Payload: 15 Kg warhead and 10 Kg Sensing payload
Wing Span: < 4.0 Meters
Assisted Launch
GPS Denied Navigation
Stealth Features To Achieve Comparatively Low RCS
Increased Autonomy Levels
Indigenous Hardware / Software


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