Indian Navy to operate UAVs for a brief period from Porbandar
GANDHINAGAR: The United States Air Force Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan 2009-2047 is a long-term vision of that country to integrate it into its joint force operations to achieve political goals.
It says an unmanned aircraft is not limited by human performance or physiological characteristics and can be carried in a backpack with commensurate capabilities. An UAS hypersonic flight will reshape the battlefield of tomorrow as it will be able to act independently in a given situation with little human input and a greatly shortened decision time. In this backdrop, it becomes crucial for us also to strengthen our unmanned aircraft system and make it a part of the mainstream operations. Strategically, we are most vulnerable from our western side and therefore capabilities in intelligence gathering in this sector should have been a top priority with a crucial role earmarked for the unmanned aerial vehicles.
However, if one sees the time the Indian Navy's squadron in Porbandar is taking to become operational, one would know that again our resolve seems to have become captive to the all pervasive lackadaisical attitude from which there seems to be no escape. This does not mean that nothing has happened but the grouse is against the slow pace. Yet with the skeletal equipment, there has been a marginal improvement in aerial reconnaissance compared to the days gone by in this sector.
This is best illustrated by the recent incident of a 105 metre long loose barge docking at the mouth of Sir Creek off Gujarat's Kutch district. An unmanned aerial vehicle of the Indian Air Force had already captured its image while it was being pushed towards India by the north-easterly winds from somewhere south-south west near Oman.
Amid this the Indian Coast Guard aircraft came out with a daring act, which would not have been possible with the support of other wings of the Indian armed forces, including para-military, to take the barge's picture from all angles. It would not be appropriate to reveal the complete details of the operation here but it had everything from coordination, leadership, dedication and the readiness of the uniformed men to give their life for the nation's cause.
Returning to Indian Navy's plan to set up a squadron in Porbandar, it seems that by the year end something should happen in this regard. The Indian Navy plans to temporarily operate UAVs from Porbandar, where it has built a hangar for them at the civilian airport. They will be brought from its UAV Squadron at Kochi which has Searcher MK II and Heron in the inventory. A decision on the positioning of UAVs in Porbandar will be taken by the Indian Navy later in the year. The Indian Coast Guard already has a full-fledged air enclave at Porbandar from where it operates its manned flights for maritime reconnaissance and search and rescue operations.
Indian Navy to operate UAVs for a brief period from Porbandar - Surat - City - The Times of India
GANDHINAGAR: The United States Air Force Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan 2009-2047 is a long-term vision of that country to integrate it into its joint force operations to achieve political goals.
It says an unmanned aircraft is not limited by human performance or physiological characteristics and can be carried in a backpack with commensurate capabilities. An UAS hypersonic flight will reshape the battlefield of tomorrow as it will be able to act independently in a given situation with little human input and a greatly shortened decision time. In this backdrop, it becomes crucial for us also to strengthen our unmanned aircraft system and make it a part of the mainstream operations. Strategically, we are most vulnerable from our western side and therefore capabilities in intelligence gathering in this sector should have been a top priority with a crucial role earmarked for the unmanned aerial vehicles.
However, if one sees the time the Indian Navy's squadron in Porbandar is taking to become operational, one would know that again our resolve seems to have become captive to the all pervasive lackadaisical attitude from which there seems to be no escape. This does not mean that nothing has happened but the grouse is against the slow pace. Yet with the skeletal equipment, there has been a marginal improvement in aerial reconnaissance compared to the days gone by in this sector.
This is best illustrated by the recent incident of a 105 metre long loose barge docking at the mouth of Sir Creek off Gujarat's Kutch district. An unmanned aerial vehicle of the Indian Air Force had already captured its image while it was being pushed towards India by the north-easterly winds from somewhere south-south west near Oman.
Amid this the Indian Coast Guard aircraft came out with a daring act, which would not have been possible with the support of other wings of the Indian armed forces, including para-military, to take the barge's picture from all angles. It would not be appropriate to reveal the complete details of the operation here but it had everything from coordination, leadership, dedication and the readiness of the uniformed men to give their life for the nation's cause.
Returning to Indian Navy's plan to set up a squadron in Porbandar, it seems that by the year end something should happen in this regard. The Indian Navy plans to temporarily operate UAVs from Porbandar, where it has built a hangar for them at the civilian airport. They will be brought from its UAV Squadron at Kochi which has Searcher MK II and Heron in the inventory. A decision on the positioning of UAVs in Porbandar will be taken by the Indian Navy later in the year. The Indian Coast Guard already has a full-fledged air enclave at Porbandar from where it operates its manned flights for maritime reconnaissance and search and rescue operations.
Indian Navy to operate UAVs for a brief period from Porbandar - Surat - City - The Times of India
