The only option for India is to fast-track the procurement of UCAVs, both from outside sources as well as from indigenous research.
First, given India’s strategic ties with the United States and Israel, New Delhi could pitch for their advanced UAS. But as always, Washington’s decision will certainly be weighed by Pakistani reactions, which may not be positive. Israel, however, poses no such strategic and geopolitical issues for India. Second, apart from expediting the DRDO’s AURA project (and others), private companies like the TATAs could be pushed through advanced drone research and developments within the country. Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and Israel Aerospace Industries have already lined up a joint venture; named NOVA Integrated Systems Ltd., which is developing a family of Mini UAVs for various defence and civil applications.
There is certainly a need to induct such unmanned systems into our Armed Forces to perform tasks that are Dull (require sustained attention spans – like flying bomber missions for over 24 hrs) Dangerous (Suppression of Enemy Air Defences – SEAD) or Dirty (involving operating in Radiation / chemical / biological environments). These are also being used for deception tasks. However, of some 550 UAV designs fielded by many countries only some ten models are currently combat-proven. We must see through commercial hype and only go in for proven systems – of the Predator, Heron or Searcher Mk II class. We must explore the potential of our Private sector producing proven designs under license in the country. The UCAV is still a work in progress, even in the USA. However we must keep pace with rapid advances in this field. We must field Satellite communications and Tactical and Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) in the mass as soon as possible.
One ground-breaking dimension of the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) – where India is yet to synchronise – is probably the ongoing passing phase of costly fighter planes and gigantic bombers and their replacement by the cost effective and smaller Unmanned Combat Areal Vehicle (UCAV) which, with its increased sophistication, has been coined as Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). Experts believe that the American F-22 Raptor and the Russian 5th generation T-50 are possibly the last of the manned fighters and now all research efforts are being directed towards UAS. In the US, drone pilots would outnumber those in cockpits in the foreseeable future as the air force is already training more drone pilots than fighter and bomber pilots combined. The US Navy has already opted out of the 5th generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme and is planning to deploy the unmanned Northrop Grumman X 47-B Unmanned Combat Air System. There is serious thinking in the Royal Air Force that 30 per cent of the present strength of fighter aircraft be replaced by UCAVs. Clearly, UCAV has begun to substitute for manned aircraft and the future air warfare is witnessing a definite ‘transformation’ in force structures, doctrines, training methodology and the management of human resources.
This global avionics momentum – preceding the success of American Predator operations in Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan in the first decade of the new millennium – has moved the debate in India from “should the UCAVs be acquired” to “how soon can UCAVs be acquired and deployed.” If that is indeed the case, then it is very pertinent to explore our understanding of this sophisticated flying machine, our current status thereof and the role it could possibly play in India’s volatile geo-political situations and strategic environment.
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Source: CBRN