Even as the Indian and Chinese forces have yet to de-escalate from several friction points along the Line of Actual Control, Indian Army has floated a Request for Proposal (RfP) for 750 Remotely Piloted Aerial Vehicles (RPAV). To be procured through Fast Track Procedure under Emergency procurement these RPAVs have to come with full accessories and will be deployed along the northern borders for surveillance.

Within a short period of one week the government has already issued five RFPs for drones as well as RPAVs. These RPAVs according to sources are expected to be deployed with the army’s Special Forces (SF) battalions as they are the one who have the mandate to execute special missions behind the enemy lines.

What is in the RFP?

It says that these are required for the Parachute Battalions which should be equipped with state of the art equipment. It has cited the volatile situation along the Northern borders which requires expeditious procurement of operational equipment.

According to the RFP the RPAV is a potent situational awareness device. This device provides surveillance both by day and night and has the ability to scan the target area, and can provide 3D processed scanned images which will help to execute special missions.

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Why RPAVs?

The Army will deploy this for scanning the target area; situational awareness, short range surveillance as well as processed 3D image of the target before entering the target area. As a force multiplier this would help the Special Forces to carry out their mission with precision strikes.

RFPS in a fortnight

Last week the government had issued a RFP for 80 mini Remotely Piloted Aerial System (RPAS) and these can be used for tactical surveillance. This means it can be used to locate equipment and weapons systems in a particular sector as well as enemy troops.

These smaller RPAS have a mission range of 15 kms and are needed by the Indian Army artillery Units and are for tactical over-the-hill surveillance especially in high altitude areas.

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According to senior officials the numbers for procurement can go up if the performances of these meet the requirement of the army.

The Indian Army is also looking for 1,000 surveillance helicopters which will be deployed in the Himalayas and will provide live feed to the battle commanders, which will enable them to take action real time.

The procurement of the UAVs and RPAVs are all expected to be sourced from the Indian companies.

In line with its commitment to procure indigenous solutions for future wars, the Indian Army had last week issued two RFPs to procure 363 drones. Out of these 163 will be operable at the high altitude and the balance 200 will be at medium altitude with accessories.

More about Surveillance Copters

Based on the information available in the public domain, these surveillance copters will provide sustained point surveillance to the army and also aerial surveillance.

They come equipped with a multi-sensor system which helps to carry out real-time reconnaissance and surveillance.

Indigenous content

The main criterion for procuring these drones from Indian companies is that the indigenous content should be around 60 percent.