Army tests ability of new beyond-visual-range drone,
India, France, UAE to test combat skills at Varuna naval
exercise from Sunday,
Indian Naval Air Squadron 323 commissioned into Indian Navy
In an important development, the Indian Army has successfully
tested an indigenous UAV for autonomous delivery of load over Punjab. The test
was carried out for delivery of pandemic items. Crucially, the test proved an
ability to operate at far-off ranges, at beyond visual line of sight, meaning
the drone was remotely controlled either by a radar or another bigger UAV above
it.
On the morning of April 16, three such ‘Made in India’ drones were tested over three villages of Abohar in Fazilka district in South-western part of Punjab. The task was ‘anti-pandemic’ operations and to deliver essential supplies, including masks, liquid-sanitiser and medical canisters.
Army coordinated these tests with the district
administration, it is clear that such operations can be done on a large scale
by increasing the number of drones and enhancing the endurance and payload of
each drone. The Army uses a few bigger drones for surveillance.
The villages of Gobindgarh, Balluana and Malukpura are
located at distance of up to 25 km from the launch point and fall beyond visual
line of sight range from base. These tests would probably have been one of the
first-of-its-kind in India with a large medical delivery cargo carried by
autonomous drones.
As per sources, the crucial part was releasing the payload
with pinpoint accuracy. It was made to fly over the earmarked dropping zone,
made to descend to a suitable height and release its payloads. Sources from the
ground confirm that the payloads were received in good order.
Entire operation did not involve any human contact at the
village zone, meaning the coordinates were fed into the drone to drop the
payload and return to its base. Such a drone could be used to send supplies to
small locality or a village without exposing the relief workers to people
infected with the virus.
It can also transport back crucial blood samples and other
supplies from isolated places. Load carriage UAVs operating at beyond visual
line of sight ranges will prove very beneficial not only under the pandemic
operations, but also to support humanitarian relief work all across India in
the years ahead.
India, France, UAE to test combat skills at Varuna naval
exercise from Sunday
Indian Navy warships will join the French flagship Charles de
Gaulle carrier aircraft carrier along with United Arab Emirates Navy for the
three-day Varuna trilateral exercise to jointly test combat skills and war game
in the Persian Gulf area starting April 25.
This is the first time that the UAE is participating in the
Varuna maritime exercise. India and France have been holding the exercise since
1993; it was christened Varuna in 2001.
Indian Navy’s sole aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya would
not join the exercise since it is under maintenance. But the Indian Navy’s
participation will seek to make up for, INS Vikramaditya’s absence by sending
two to three destroyers, possibly led by INS Kolkata, the lead ship of the
navy’s, Kolkata-class stealth guided-missile destroyers and frigates, an attack
submarine, P8I maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft. The
Charles de Gaulle carrier strike force comprises two frigates and a
replenishment tanker.
The French aircraft carrier and its strike group have been in
the neighbourhood for weeks; Charles de Gaulle arrived in the Arabian Sea in
mid-March for operations relating to Afghanistan and has held dual operations
with the United States aircraft supercarrier, Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier
Strike Group. According to the two navies, the two strike groups, which are
conducting dual operations, are cooperating at levels of integration that has
been “rarely achieved in the past”.
USS Eisenhower carrier strike group is part of the fifth
fleet, whose area of operations extends from the Red Sea to parts of the Indian
Ocean. The US carrier-based squadrons of F-18 Super Hornet aircraft and E-2c
Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft tested war skills with French Rafale
fighters in the Arabian Sea on April 13.
While the fledgling UAE Navy will be part of the Varuna war
games, Indian and French naval warships will be involved in complex exercise in
the north Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf by testing interoperability skills
in sub-surface, surface and aerial dimensions.
Just as France is considered the oldest US ally, India and
France have very deep defence cooperation and converge on the Indo-Pacific
doctrine to ensure that no power unilaterally blocks the freedom of navigation
from the Gulf of Aden to the western shores of the United States. Both India
and France have very close ties with UAE.
Like the four-nation Quad grouping, India-France and
Australia have overlapping security objectives in the Indo-Pacific even though
the level of war gaming between major maritime powers such as the US, France
and India takes a bigger dimension with advanced skill testing and intelligence
sharing.
Indian Naval Air Squadron 323 commissioned into Indian Navy
Indian Naval Air Squadron INAS 323, the first unit of the
indigenously built ALH, Mk3 aircraft, was commissioned into the Indian Navy by
Union Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik in the presence of Vice
Admiral R Hari Kumar, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Western Naval
Command, at INS Hansa, here on Monday.
Addressing the gathering, Mr Naik said the commissioning of INAS
323 marked yet another milestone in the efforts towards enhancing maritime
security and safeguarding maritime interests of the nation, as also embodying
the spirit of Atma Nirbhar Bharat.
The squadron will operate three state-of-the-art ALH Mk3, a
multirole helicopter with Shakti engine manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited HAL. The Mk3 version of the Advanced Light Helicopters has an all-glass
cockpit and will be used for Search and Rescue, Special Operations and Coastal
Surveillance. 16 aircraft are under procurement and the aircraft are being
delivered in a phased manner to the Indian Navy.
Indian Naval Air Squadron 323 is commanded by Cdr
Samik Nundy, an accomplished and experienced ALH pilot with extensive
operational experience.
