Big Boost For Army: India Initiates Indigenous Drone Programme For Tanks

New Delhi: Aimed at boosting the operational capabilities of Indian Army the Armoured Vehicle Nigam Limited (AVNL), a Defence Public Sector Undertaking (DPSU) has issued Expression of Interest (EOI) for types of drones including Kamikaze Sources told Times Now that in the first phase of the development, three sets of the prototypes will be procured by the AVNL.A total of 590 units will be procured by the Indian Army, in addition to the prototypes. An EOI has also been issued for loitering munitions, tethered, and untethered drones. After receiving the comments from the interested companies, a Request For Proposal (RFP) will be prepared. Notably, the EoI is open only to Indian companies, including MSMEs, public sector undertakings, and government

entities. Firms participating directly in other Indian Army projects like FRCV, FICV, ARV or light tank platform-level programmes have been barred from participating in this drone project.Also Read: Rafale To Go Desi? 80% of Fighter Jets to Be Built in India, New Delhi Pushes Localisation: Sources Importantly, his programme is going to coincide with Army Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV). The proposed drone ecosystem is intended to significantly enhance battlefield awareness and beyond-line-of-sight strike capability for Indian armoured formations. For the unversed, the loitering munition system is expected to engage armoured targets.This munition is also expected to have a minimum operational range of 15 kilometres, endurance of at least 45 minutes, and circular error probability of less than one metre. he system is required to operate in plains, deserts, forests, urban terrain, and mountainous regions, including at altitudes up to 18,000 feet above mean sea level.Also Read: Big Boost For IAF: India Prepares LoR To Buy More 114 Rafale Jets From France Meanwhile, for surveillance roles, AVNL has sought untethered drones capable of transmitting 2K video over 20 kilometres while operating in electronic warfare environments. The surveillance drones are expected to feature encrypted communications, autonomous navigation in GNSS-denied conditions, automatic target tracking, and return-to-home capability.

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As per the Expression of Interest (EoI) plans for tethered drones, it would provide persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance as well as communication relay functions for armoured fighting vehicles. These drones will have a minimum indigenous content level of more than 50 per cent during the prototype phase, rising progressively to 80 per cent by the final production lot. This procurement project underscores the growing importance of drone warfare lessons emerging from recent global conflicts, particularly the increasing integration of unmanned systems with armoured platforms for reconnaissance, targeting, and precision strike missions.Indian Army Working To Modernise Mechanised Arm:The Indian Army is working on plan to modernise its mechanised arm by inducting a new-generation 'Future Tank' platform namely FRCV (Future Ready Combat Vehicle), in a phased manner. Once developed, the FRCVs, other than towards Pakistan, also include the deployment of armoured vehicles along the mountainous terrain along the Line of Actual Control with China. The plan is to replace its over four-decade-old Russian-origin T-72 main battle tank with future-ready combat vehicles (FRCVs) by 2030.