HAL, IAI developing unmanned helicopter

-

India and Israel have begun joint development of an unmanned helicopter capable of operating in severe weather conditions, according to reports in the Israeli media. The unmanned rotary wing aircraft will have automated takeoff and landing systems for use on unprepared fields on land and from ships at sea.

Being developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Israel Aerospace Industries' (IAI) unmanned air vehicle division, Malat, the helicopter will also have a dual automated sophisticated operating systems for enhanced safety, said a report in Israeli business daily, Globes.

The unmanned helicopter meant primarily for use by the navy will carry payloads such as day-and-night-imaging systems and various radar systems.

Its main advantage over unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) is its ability to takeoff from and land anywhere, including from ships, the report added. 

The prototype being developed is based on the HAL-built Chetak airframe, a derivative of the French Alouette, and some reports suggest that test flights are already scheduled for the coming months.

According to these reports, the flight control system to be used in the unmanned helicopter was previously developed by IAI using a Bell 206 airfarme. Through this programme IAI developed a kit that it says will allow for a "plug and fly" conversion of any helicopter for unmanned operations.

An earlier IAI effort to develop a hovering UAV in the late 1980s was unsuccessful and led to the company terminating development activities.

However, work on vertical take-off and landing UAVs was revived following interest from potential users including the Indian and Israeli navies. While the Israeli Navy would seek to equip its fleet of missile boats, in the case of the Indian Navy options are much wider, ranging from missile boats to frigates, destroyers and aircraft carriers.

According to Israeli media, IAI CEO Itzhak Nissan is presently in India to finalize a number of agreements with Tata. IAI signed an agreement with Tata Advanced Systems Ltd to jointly develop and manufacture defence products.

IAI is also collaborating with a number of Indian aerospace companies, including the Indian Space Research Organisation which recently launched its TecSAR satellite on its launch vehicle.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Indigenous tank T-90 Bhishma rolls out

-
Image
The first batch of the indigenously built T-90 Bhishma tanks was on Monday (August 24) flagged off by Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju at the rolling out ceremony held at the Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi, in Chennai. The T-90S tank incorporates many new technologies in terms of mobility, protection, fighting capabilities, safety and communication. The tank is equipped with 125mm smooth bore gun stabilised in Elevation and Azimuth, 12.7mm anti-craft machine gun and 7.62mm co-axial machine gun supported with high accuracy sighting systems and Automatic Loader ensuring high rate of fire. A significant feature of this tank is its capability to fire guided missile in addition to conventional ammunition using the same main gun barrel. The integrated fire control system consisting of the gunner’s sight, guided weapon system and ballistic computer facilitates accurate firing of conventional ammunitions as well as the guided missiles. The built in Explosive Reactive Arm
Read more

Second only to US IAF & Navy to get DRDO's CHAFF tech for protecting Aircrafts and Ships from enemy missile

-
Image
The Indian Air Force and Navy have partnered with the Defence Research and Development Organisation to acquire the CHAFF technology, which protects warships from anti-ship missiles during combat. After the United States, India is now the second country to develop this capability, signalling a major Aatmanirbhar push in the field of defence. The development is significant because the Indian navy is investigating the sinking of the Russian missile cruiser Moskva and concentrating on how to protect our warships from anti-ship ballistic missiles such as the Chinese DF-21. What exactly is CHAFF? CHAFF is a critical defence technology that protects fighter planes and naval ships from enemy radar-guided missiles during wartime. The importance of this technology stems from the fact that a small amount of CHAFF material deployed in the air acts as a decoy to deflect enemy missiles, ensuring the safety of fighter planes and naval ships. This advanced CHAFF technology was developed by the DRDO to
Read more

India built N-sub in Kalpakkam under codename 'PRP'

-
The secrecy attached to the development of the indigenous nuclear submarine project is almost legendary. What’s little known is the extent to which the Indian N-establishment went to conceal the research not only from the public but also large sections of the scientific community within the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). For almost nine years, most staff working at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) in Kalpakkam believed the Plutonium Recycle Project (PRP) in the complex was used only for that purpose, that is recycling plutonium. But with the launch of INS Arihant on July 25, top DAE officials have finally begun to lift the veil and reveal that they were actually building the core (nuclear reactor and propulsion systems) of the submarine as well as the land-based version of the hull of the indigenous vessel, which served as the technology demonstrator of the main vessel, within the PRP unit. For those in the know, even the term ‘PRP’ denoted the N-sub.
Read more