Spies in the Sky: Micro Air Vehicles to fight insurgency

[SpArK]

Spies in the Sky: Micro Air Vehicles to fight insurgency​

Mysore, Aug. 20 (JP)- Micro Air Vehicles (MAV) are being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) unit, the National Aeronautical Laboratory (NAL) located in Bangalore.

According to Dr. Prahalada, Chief Controller (R&D), DRDO, "MAV are like tiny vehicles that work like spies in sky. They weigh only 300 gms and are 300 millimetres long. Since these MAVs are not entirely made of metal and carbon fibres, they are hard to intercept by radars and sensors. These MAVs have a range of two to five kilometers and they fly some 100 to 200 metres above the ground for 30-40 minutes and capture images."

Sources in NAL told SOM yesterday that DRDO was given the Rs. 100 crore 'Design and Development of Micro and Nano Air Vehicle Project' that will be deployed in countering terrorism and insurgency during low intensity conflicts.

Colleges and research institutions across the country are involved with DRDO in developing prototypes of MAVs.

Lt. Gen (Dr.) V. J. Sundaram, key scientist behind the MAV who was the former Director of DRDO, said that the MAV may be of the order of $16,000 and the sensors alone will take up 30 to 40 per cent of the cost. As of now, the MAV programme has become a national research initiative and a proposal of $19.6 million has been submi-tted to the Government to approach the project in an integrated manner.

While MAVs will come in handy for the Indian Defence Forces, it can also be applied in other areas such as disaster management since they can be easily operated and deployed.

According to a source in Military Intelligence, MAVs could play a vital role in anti-naxal operations and surveillance, reconnaissance, fire, floods, earthquakes, gas leaks, search and rescue, explosive detection and several other applications.


The para military sources feel that it will be of great help in counter insurgency ops.

Star Of Mysore Online

 

[Donatello]

Wow...that is a huge sum of money for some R/C toys...

 

[BATMAN]

^^ please, explain? when and how?
While, i believe you are clue less of its application.
You don't even know the name of companies producing such UAVs.

 

[Indiarox]

^^ please, explain? when and how?
While, i believe you are clue less of its application.
You don't even know the name of companies producing such UAVs.

What??
Didn't you read DRDO is developing it and NAL is producing it.

 

[BATMAN]

Already reported... i tried to put the thread back on track.
this is why i didn't replied to HIM in even coin.

Ok....i read the news, so tell us more!

 

[Indiarox]

Already reported... i tried to put the thread back on track.
this is why i didn't replied to HIM in even coin.

Ok....i read the news, so tell us more!

though what Flanker said is highly provocative he had a valid point this can be used in patrolling the border regions which troops find difficult to monitor due to terrain or other reasons which the terrorist could use to infiltrate in to our side of the border.