WHAT IS PROJECT CHEETAH ?
The Indian Air Force's (IAF) long-pending nearly Rs 5,000 crore 'Project Cheetah' is finally set to take off.
Under this project, India's Heron drones are to be upgraded and armed to carry out offensive operations against the enemy.
ABOUT THE DRONE
Made in Israel, Heron Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is a medium-altitude UAV and can carry up to 250 kg of weight, Including a thermographic camera, airborne ground surveillance, visible light, radar systems, etc.
The Heron UAV is capable of returning to base autonomously in case of lost communication.
Project Cheetah was first initiated by the IAF in 2013.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED ?
The Indian Air Force is now planning to go ahead with its Project Cheetah under the Make in India route where Indian defence
manufacturers would arm the Israeli Heron drones with strike capabilities. As per plans, the project was to be completed with Israeli weapon manufacturers.
"Now, the IAF is planning to go ahead with the upgrade of its drones by involving Indian defence firms under Make in India in defence," government sources told ANI.
Under the ambitious Project Cheetah, the Indian Air Force wants to upgrade its existing fleet of Israeli-origin Heron unmanned aerial vehicles,
With better communication facilities and missiles which can target enemy positions from long range.
IAF TO LEAD THE PROJECT
The IAF is the main lead in the project under which the Israeli drones in the Navy and the Army are also planned to be upgraded with strike capabilities and better surveillance and reconnaissance pods.
The three services for a long time have depended upon IAF Israeli made Searcher II and Heron UAVs for reconnaissance and snooping purposes.
With the upgrade in snooping capabilities, the forces on the ground would also be able to get pinpoint intelligence about hideouts in areas where men have to be involved in operations.
The upgrades would also enable the ground stations to operate these aircraft from far-off distances and control them through a satellite communication system.
The surveillance capabilities of the UAVS planned to be upgraded would be similar to the ones that have been acquired by the Indian Army and IAF, Under the emergency acquisition powers granted to the forces by the government in wake of the ongoing military stand-off.
WEAPONS TO BE DEPLOYED IN HERON DRONES
90 Heron drones of the three services - Indian Air Force (IAF), Indian Army, and the Indian Navy will be upgraded with, Laser-guided bombs, air to ground, and air-launched anti-tank guided missiles.
HERON TP DRONE
The drones are capable of operating for nearly 45 hours at an altitude of up to 35,000 feet.
The Heron TP drones are equipped with automatic taxi takeoff and landing (ATOL) and satellite communication (SATCOM) systems for an extended range.
The drones will be fitted with ultra-long-range surveillance cameras and other state-of-the-art gadgets.
The Heron TP, which is as long as a Rafale (14 metres) and has double the wingspan of the French fighter, has been developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
It is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) for all weather strategic missions.
The Heron TP drones are capable of being armed if needed.
DRONES USED BY INDIAN ARMY & AIRFORCE
The Army and the Indian Air Force use a mix of previous generation Heron and searcher 2 drones.
But the Heron TP is much more capable than its predecessor.
"The Heron TP is huge. It looks like an AN-32 aircraft in size because of its large wingspan.
It has a maximum take-off weight of 5,670 kg, with a maximum payload weight of 2,700 kg. The earlier generation has less than half this capacity."
CONCLUSION
In a bid to promote "Make in India" in the defence manufacturing industry, the Narendra Modi administration has either postponed or scrapped all major defence import agreements.
The country's air force, army and navy have been unable to import critical weapon systems to replace the old ones, Bloomberg has reported.
By 2026 and 2030, India could face a critical shortage of helicopters and fighter jets, respectively.
