The Indian Army is expected to deploy drones to monitor borders along the line of actual control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
Named Bharat, the high-altitude drone has been developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory in Chandigarh.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The acquisition comes amid the ongoing border clashes between India and China.
Defence sources were quoted by news agency ANI as saying: “The Indian Army requires drones for accurate surveillance in the ongoing dispute in the Eastern Ladakh area.
“For this requirement, the DRDO has provided the Bharat drones.”
Bharat is said to be equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) and can provide real-time video transmission.
DRDO sources were quoted by the news agency as saying: “The small yet powerful drone works autonomously at any location with great accuracy. The unibody biomimetic design with advance release technology is a lethal combination for surveillance missions.”
The Indian Army is making a number of orders after the government granted the armed forces emergency financial powers to procure ammunition and weapons.
Earlier this week, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a contract worth Rs5.57bn ($74.6m) for the procurement of 1,512 mine ploughs.
The contract was signed with Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and the mine ploughs will be installed on the Indian Army’s battle tank T-90 S/SK.
