India to procure weapons, sensors, unmanned systems for urgent army requirements

The Indian Army is procuring a variant of ideaForge's Switch UAV (pictured) to enhance surveillance. (ideaForge)

India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded 13 contracts with a combined worth of INR19.8 billion (USD230.3 million) to procure a range of unmanned systems, sensors, and combat equipment for the Indian Army.

The contracts were awarded under the government's ‘emergency procurement' programme to meet urgent operational requirements of the Indian Army, the MoD announced on 24 June. The systems procured under these contracts will primarily be deployed to enhance the Indian Army's counter-insurgency (COIN) and counter-terrorism operations, the MoD said.

These systems will improve “situational awareness (SA), lethality, mobility, and protection” of troops in challenging environments, the MoD added.

Unmanned systems

The MoD said it is procuring remotely piloted aerial vehicles (RPAVs), loitering munitions, and other undisclosed categories of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Mumbai-based ideaForge is one of the companies that has secured a contract from the MoD to supply its Hybrid Mini UAV to the Indian Army, Janes learnt. A spokesperson for the company told Janes on 24 June that the Hybrid Mini UAV is a fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) platform that will be used by the Indian Army for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).

This UAV is a variant of the company's Switch UAV, the spokesperson said, adding that the Hybrid Mini UAV “has been designed for more agile operations”. It has lesser operational capabilities compared with the Switch UAV. For example, while the standard Switch variant has an endurance of up to 150 minutes, the Hybrid Mini UAV has an endurance of up to 75 minutes, the spokesperson said.

The Hybrid Mini UAV is the same size as the Switch UAV, the spokesperson added. According to