India will purchase the MQ-4C BAMS drone aircraft

[RPK]

Avionews - Agenzia stampa del settore aeronautico, elicotteristico, aerospaziale e della difesa


(WAPA) - The Indian Navy will purchase six to eight Northrop Grumman MQ-4C BAMS (Broad Area Maritime Surveillance) for high-altitude reconnaissance. The aircraft is an upgrade of the Northrop Grumman heavy drone Global Hawk.

The project aims to keep a BAMS airborne all day for 365 days a year. These particular UAVs will allow India to patrol the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal joining the Boeing P-8A Poseidon fleet.

Delhi is improving its UAV fleet, having already two Israel-made Heron drone squadron. (Avionews)
(2013)

 

[shiv]

awesome news....

 

[Bharthi]

MQ-4C BAMS UAS

 

[India defense]

Keep buying....

 

[SP!TF!R3]

awsome news bro... is there any news on fire scout???

 

[manofwar]

Awesome news Guys!!! Hope to see an indegenious one in a few years

 

[Bl[i]tZ]

So Indian and US navy will have exactly the same systems. P-8 + BAMS. Navy is becoming the most hi-tech force among the three forces.

Key System Features

Provides persistent maritime ISR at a mission radius of 2000 nm; 24 hours/7 days per week with 80% Effective Time on Station (ETOS)
Land-based air vehicle and sensor Command and Control (C2)
Afloat Level II payload sensor data via line-of-sight
Dual redundant flight controls and surfaces
51,000 hour airframe life
Due regard radar for safe separation
Anti/de-ice, bird strike, and lightning protection
Communications bandwidth management
Commercial off-the-shelf open architecture mission control system
Net-ready interoperability solution
Payload (360-degree Field of Regard)

Multi-Function Active Sensor Active Electronically Steered
Array (MFAS AESA) radar
2D AESA
Maritime and air-to-ground modes
Long-range detection and classification of targets
MTS-B multi-spectral targeting system
Electro-optical/infrared
Auto-target tracking
High resolution at multiple field-of-views
Full motion video
AN/ZLQ-1 Electronic Support Measures (ESM)
All digital
Specific Emitter Identification (SEI)
Automatic Identification System (AIS)
Provides information received from VHF broadcasts on maritime vessel movements


Specifications
Wingspan . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130.9 ft (39.9 m)
Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47.6 ft (14.5 m)
Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15.4 ft (4.6 m)
Gross Take-off Weight . . . .32,250 lbs (14,628 kg)
Max. Internal Payload . . . . .3,200 lbs (1,452 kg)
Max. External Payload . . . .2,400 lbs (1,089 kg)
Self Deploy . . . . . . . . . . . . .8,200 nm (15,186 km)
Max. Altitude . . . . . . . . . . .56,500 ft (17.22 km)
Max. Velocity . . . . . . . . . . .331 knots True Air Speed (TAS)
Max. Endurance . . . . . . . . .28 hours

 

[Skull and Bones]

Unbelievable

 

[SurvivoR]

Any news on when will it be joining the fleet?

 

[Tshering22]

Good news. But what's the effing use if we don't use there weapons and platforms because of a spineless government?

 

[Ignited Mind]

Why do we need these recconaisance drones in the times of satellite imagery?

Isn't it better to spend the same money in developing and launching better and more no. of advanced spy satellites?

 

[manofwar]

Why do we need these recconaisance drones in the times of satellite imagery?

Isn't it better to spend the same money in developing and launching better and more no. of advanced spy satellites?

You just can't get the same amount o video quality in sattelites, also it's difficult to monitor sattelite imagery because it can get real time image of only one place at a time..the rest of the images are previously shot ones

 

[Ignited Mind]

You just can't get the same amount o video quality in sattelites, also it's difficult to monitor sattelite imagery because it can get real time image of only one place at a time..the rest of the images are previously shot ones

Will having lots of satellites not solve the problem of there not being enough coverage?

 

[janon]

Good news. But what's the effing use if we don't use there weapons and platforms because of a spineless government?

They don't carry any weapons, they are unmanned drones, for reconnaisance and surveilance.

 

[Capt.Popeye]

Why do we need these recconaisance drones in the times of satellite imagery?

Isn't it better to spend the same money in developing and launching better and more no. of advanced spy satellites?

Because these drones can be vectored to specific areas of surveillance as and when desired in 'real-time'. Satellite orbits and 'foot-prints' are pretty much fixed so their areas can have some "windows". These gaps can be filled in by aerial surveillance. Even the most sophisticated satellites will never ever do away with the need for aerial surveillance, manned or unmanned.