Navy gets its first India-made medium-altitude, long-endurance drone

The Indian Navy on Wednesday got its first indigenous medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drone, the Drishti 10 Starliner unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which will boost its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.

Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said the drone will be a potent force multiplier in the Indian Ocean region that faces an array of security challenges. The Drishti 10 Starliner drone has been built by Adani Defence and Aerospace at its Hyderabad facility with technology transfer from Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems. The UAV is the first major defence platform to be delivered to the Indian military by Adani, and is a variant of Elbit Systems’ Hermes 900 Starliner drones.

Kumar was in Hyderabad for the drone’s unveiling and accepting its delivery. It is the first of the four drones (two each) ordered by the navy and the army by invoking emergency financial powers. The remaining systems will be delivered in the coming months. The armed forces have a requirement for around 100 such drones.

“With state-of-the art sensors, enhanced endurance, advanced communication capabilities as well as new-age technologies like automatic take-off and landing, Drishti would be a potent force multiplier, adding capability and credibility in undertaking intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) across the Indian Ocean region,” the navy chief said in his address.

Also Read | Indian exports may drop by $30 billion amid Houthi threat on Red Sea

The navy’s challenges include China’s carefully calculated power play for influence, defending the rules-based international order, and the emergence of the Arabian Sea as a new front with tensions in the Red Sea escalating and piracy continuing to be a problem in the Gulf of Aden.

The navy has stepped up surveillance in the Arabian Sea substantially and deployed task groups consisting of around 10 warships in the face of rising threats. P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft, Sea Guardian remotely piloted aircraft, Dorniers, helicopters and coast guard ships are part of the effort to strengthen security in the area.

The versatility and flexibility offered through modularity and mobility of ground support equipment would enable the navy to operate the Drishti drones from naval air stations across the country, Kumar said.

The all-weather Drishti 10 Starliner is 70% indigenous, has an endurance of 36 hours and can carry a payload of 450 kg, Adani Defence and Aerospace said in a statement. The UAV will be taken from Hyderabad to Porbandar for integration into naval operations, it said.

The UAV, which has three hard points (which can carry loads), can be weaponised if need be, HT has learnt. It has a service ceiling of 30,000 feet.

“This is a momentous occasion and a transformative step in India’s quest for self-reliance in ISR technology and maritime supremacy. Drishti 10’s integration will enhance our naval capabilities, strengthening our preparedness in the ever-evolving maritime surveillance and reconnaissance domains,” the navy chief said.

ISR platforms across land, air and naval borders are a key priority for Adani to serve the armed forces and place India on the global map for exports, said Adani Enterprises vice president Jeet Adani.

“Our on-time delivery to the navy is a testament to our robust quality management processes and excellent support from our partners, who worked diligently over the last 10 months from contract to delivery,” said Adani Defence and Aerospace CEO Ashish Rajvanshi.

The UAV has been delivered on time despite Israel’s growing military needs and Elbit Systems’ preoccupation with the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

“Today, autonomous systems are becoming a preferred choice in the order of battle for nations across the globe. Both our immediate neighbours collectively hold a very large inventory of UAVs. Therefore, it is only prudent that we, as a nation, and as armed forces, continue to harness our resident expertise in this domain, by remaining agile, adaptable and ahead of the curve,” Kumar added.

“May Drishti be our third eye in the sky, providing us battlefield transparency with incisive clarity, enabling the navy to score a bulls-eye on anyone who dares cast an evil-eye at the nation and our citizens.”

The Defence Research and Development Organisation is also developing a MALE UAV called Tapas, which has thus far undergone more than 200 test flights. A Tapas drone crashed near Challakere in Karnataka on August 20, 2023, with DRDO attributing the incident to a technical snag. The crash came at a time when the UAV is ready for user evaluation trials. It had earlier crashed in September 2019.

The platform can operate at an altitude of 28,000 ft, has an endurance of 18 hours and can carry a maximum payload of 350 kg.

India currently does not have any drone in the HALE (high altitude long endurance) category.

The country is buying from the US, 31 MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) to boost the military’s strength and help bridge the technological gaps faced by the DRDO in developing such systems indigenously.

US firm General Atomics has offered the drones to India for $ 3.072 billion. This, however, is subject to negotiations.

To be assembled in India, the versatile platform will have the capability to strike targets with its on-board weapons, it will be used for ISR, and its other roles include electronic warfare, defensive counter air and airborne early warning.