India seeks micro UAVsBy Vivek RaghuvanshiOctober 26, 2007The Indian Army is on a global hunt to buy unspecified numbers of micro UAVs to fly surveillance missions in the upper reaches of Jammu and Kashmir and for anti-insurgency operations in the country’s northeast.Bids have been sent to companies that make the Bird Eye (Israel Aerospace Industries), FanTail (Singapore Technologies Aerospace), Raven (U.S. firm AeroVironment), Skylark (Israel’s Elbit) and Tracker (Europe’s EADS).A senior Army official said the service will need more than 200 UAVs in the next three to five years, with the requirement increasing as more urban areas are put under surveillance.The micro UAVs are a priority procurement for the Army and could be inducted into service by mid-2008. The Army has specified no numbers in the bid, but service sources said the order could increase depending on the UAV’s performance as funds are available.The global bids, sent early this month, stipulate that the micro UAV selected should be able to:å Perform reconnaissance and surveillance over mountains, day and night, and immediately transmit data to operators by voice and video.å Identify and detect targets.å Do surveillance of rural and urban areas where insurgents operate.å Assess post-strike damages.The micro UAV also must weigh no more than 40 kilograms; be easy to assemble; have a low-noise engine, fixed or rotary wings and a low heat signature; and be able to avoid enemy detection and engagement.The system’s ground control station should be a portable laptop that can display video and flight data on a digital map background and control the UAV in flight. Also, the UAV should be capable of performing a preprogrammed flight when navigation way points are fed into the computer.A crew of two should be able to set up and operate the UAV and perform the launch mission in 15 minutes. It should resist electronic countermeasures.The Army also wants a UAV that can operate in temperatures between minus-10 degrees and 50 degrees Celsius, fly at speeds up to 50 kilometers per hour at a range of at least 10 kilometers, and endure 90 minutes of flight.
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