Indian Army plans to buy Raven UAV and Spike Firefly

The Indian Army is reportedly proposing to buy RQ-11 Raven unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and Spike Firefly ‘loitering’ ammunition.

The Hindustan Times reported that the procurement would include 200 units of RQ-11 UAV.

The unmanned vehicle is designed with the capability to fly 10km at an altitude of 500ft and can cruise at a speed of up to 95km/h.

The forces will use the hand-launched, remote-controlled unmanned vehicle to conduct reconnaissance mission.

Israeli Spike Firefly is designed for precision strikes on enemy troops located at a distance of 1km.

The small, light and agile weapon kit system includes three loitering munitions (LMs) and Control Unit (CU) with standard bidirectional data link.

The Indian Armed Forces is acquiring these weapon systems after the government permitted the purchase of capabilities under emergency procurements amid the India-China dispute.

Financial support of up to $66.23m has been allocated to acquire weapon systems.

Meanwhile, India is also expecting the first batch of four Rafale fighters. However, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, delivery has been delayed.

All the 36 fighter aircraft are scheduled to be delivered by April 2022.

Separately, the Indian Navy has ordered for new twin-engine aircraft carrier-based fighter aircraft to be developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).