Order for 87 MALE drones will be split between 2 Indian firms in 64:36 ratio to ensure there are 2 independent manufacturing lines with at least 60% indigenous components.
What has given entrepreneurs and engineers the impetus is the collective realisation that India cannot be solely dependent on other countries for drone technology.
In the test flight, carried out in the last week of June, Kalam Labs launched the highest UAV flight (with a wingspan of under two metres) to ever be carried out in India.
The Baltic nation has built a robust digital ecosystem, which in turn has strengthened its cybersecurity infra. It has also significantly increased investment in its defence sector.
In a report, UK-based media outlet Middle East Eye states that Shaheen combat drones provided rebels the strategic edge in coordinated assaults on government targets.
HAPS are high-altitude, solar-powered UAVs operating in stratosphere about 20 km above ground level, while SAR is technique for producing fine-resolution images.
80-page document, originally in Gondi, details strategies to counter aerial strikes through diagrams & images. In last 2 yrs, security forces have denied aerial bombing Bastar.
While the Navy will get 15 MQ9B drones in maritime and anti-submarine warfare kits, the Army and the Indian Air Force will get 8 each of the land version.
With regional parties struggling to project a unified Opposition in Parliament, and no leader in Delhi able to mediate, Centre-state tensions are playing out as open conflict.
Instead of buying more Mirages outright in early 2000s, the requirement was tweaked in favour of a medium-weight, multi-role fighter with Mirage-like performance.
Pakistan not only has zero chance of catching up with India in most areas, but will inevitably see the gap rising. Its leaders will offer its people the same snake oil in different bottles.
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