Against the backdrop of rapidly changing conflict dynamics, which are increasingly dominated by unmanned systems, the Indian Army, on Monday, unveiled a nearly 50-page document outlining technical and operational requirements in the domain of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and loitering munitions.
According to a senior officer, the document, titled ‘Indian Army’s Technology Roadmap for Unmanned Aerial Systems and Loitering Munitions,’ details 30 types of UAS and loitering munitions across five categories, translating into nearly 80 variants.
The roadmap aims to guide industry, academia, and R&D towards priority areas, fostering indigenous innovation and strengthening India’s drone ecosystem in line with the government’s self-reliance initiative.
The document appears to be highly confidential in nature, as the authorities have urged stakeholders not to share it with unauthorised persons, citing the risk of it falling into the hands of an adversary. Pakistan and China may want to lay their hands on this document, warned Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability Development and Sustenance), Lt Gen Rahul R. Singh, in his address at the launch event.
Maj Gen C.S. Mann, ADG, Army Design Bureau, said this is the first time the Indian Army has shared such specifications related to the domain of UAS and loitering munitions.
The 30 types of UAS and loitering munitions mentioned in the critical document fall under five categories: surveillance, loitering munitions, unmanned aerial systems in air defence roles, unmanned aerial systems in special roles, and logistics unmanned aerial systems.
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There are eight types of platforms in the surveillance category. These are: High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE), Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE), High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS), Medium Altitude Persistent Surveillance System (MAPSS), UALS for Long Range Surveillance, UALS for Medium Range Surveillance, UALS for Short Range Surveillance, and Tethered Drones for Surveillance.
Under loitering munitions, there are six platforms—Long Range Loiter Munition, Medium Range Loiter Munition, Short Range Loiter Munition, Swarm Drone (Surveillance & Strike), FPV Drone with Strike Capability, and Low Cost Loiter Munition.
Drone-on-Drone, Drones in anti-swarm roles, and UALS: Aircraft/Helicopter Emulator are the three platforms under the air defence role.
There are 11 platforms in the special role category. These include UAS in Mother-Child Configuration, UALS in Hunter-Killer Configuration, UALS in MUM-T Role for Helicopters & AFVs, UALS with Munitions—Guided/Unguided Bombs & Munition Dropping/ULPGMs, Weapon-Mounted UALS, UALS for Survey Role, Mine Dispensing UALS, Swarm Drones as Smart Mines, UALS-Based Jammer, UALS for Data Relay, and Nano Drones.
The two platforms under the logistic UAS (Unmanned Air Littoral System)/UALS (Unmanned Air Littoral System) are: Logistic UAS/UALS and Long Range Logistic Haulers.
The document mentions details such as equipment name, type, expected life cycle, approximate quantity, and information on its variants.