The Northern Command of the Indian Army has floated a global tender for 20 Mini Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to strengthen its capability in fighting terrorism in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. As per the tender, the UAV should be less than ten kilograms in weight, should be able to fly at an altitude of up to 1,000 metres and should have an endurance of a minimum of 60 minutes. The controlling range of the UAVs should be not less than five kilometres and they should be capable of being launched by the troops on ground. The tender for the Mini UAVs, expected to be less than Rs 50 lakh, comes soon after the Army and the Navy issued a global Request For Proposal for procuring 95 such machines. “The mini UAVs will be used in counter terrorist operations by our troops for gathering intelligence and carrying out reconnaissance of particular areas,” said Army officials in New Delhi. Similar UAVs are also being planned to be used by the Central Armed Police Forces in the anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
