New Delhi: The Indian Army‘s surveillance capability along the border with Punjab is all set to get a boost as the force is set to deploy its Drishti-10 medium-altitude, long-endurance drones at a forward base in the Punjab sector. The drones are expected to be delivered by the Indian firm Adani Defence and  inducted into the force in the next two to three months.
The Indian Army has placed orders for two of these drones from the firm under emergency provisions that mandate that the systems supplied by vendors should be more than 60 per cent indigenous and should be under the ‘Make in India’ in Defence.
The Indian Army has plans to deploy these drones in the Punjab sector, where it can keep an eye on a large area, including the desert sector as well as the areas north to the Punjab, military officials said.
The Indian Army is already operating the Heron MK-1 and MK-2 drones and has also placed orders for the Drishti-10 or the Hermes-900 drones under the last tranche of the emergency procurements approved by the government for the forces.
Adani Defence had signed a deal with the Israeli firm Elbit Systems for the transfer of technology for the drones and stated that it has indigenised 70 per cent of the birds and will work to increase it further. The Indian Army has also inducted more satellite communication-enabled birds from Israel, as it has a few Heron Mark 2 birds in direct deals with Israel Aerospace Industries.
The drones were unveiled earlier this week by Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar and Director General Army Aviation Lt Gen Ajay Suri in Hyderabad. The Indian Navy is going to position them in Porbandar to keep an eye on the maritime boundary with Pakistan as well as the high seas, as the UAV has the capability to fly for over 30 hours and cover a distance of around 2,000 km in one go.
