All you need to know about Navy’s first MALE drone

New Delhi: The Indian Navy has 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.

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.

The UAV will fly from Hyderabad to Porbandar in Gujarat to be pressed into naval maritime operations.

The drone is qualified for flight in civilian non-segregated airspace and in adverse weather conditions thanks to its unique and unlimited deicing mechanism.

According to the company, the drone also has Starliner features over-the-horizon, persistent multi-mission, multi-sensor capabilities with a class-leading payload carrying capacity.

The Navy currently operates tactical drones in addition to the four High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) drones called ‘Sea Guardians’.

The Army, whichh has procured a number of drones of varying capabilities, has already bought four Satellite Communication-enabled Israeli Heron Mark-II drones. The Indian military plans to upgrade the existing fleet of Heron Mark-I with similar capabilities that will allow it to operate them with longer endurance and capabilities, as reported earlier.

The Herons currently have an endurance of about 24 hours and can transmit back live video feed and images within a range of about 200-250 km. With satellite-link, they will have almost unlimited range of transmission and can be fully exploited to their endurance capabilities.

Meanwhile, the Army, Navy and the Air Force are looking at the acquisition of 31 HALE (MQ-9B) drones which will be inducted into the Indian military over the next three-four years. Of the 31, Navy will get 15 MQ-9B drones in maritime and anti-submarine warfare kits, while the Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF) will get eight each of the land version.

(Defence Watch– India’s Defence News centre that places the spotlight on Defence Manufacturing, Defence Technology, Strategy and Military affairs is on Twitter. Follow us here and stay updated.)