Did India requested the US to supply Avenger combat Drone

Did India requested the US to supply Avenger combat Drone

    US Media Bloomberg reported that Indian Air force sends a expression of interest (EoI) letter to General Atomics to know the capability of Avenger next generation unmanned combat vehicle. The EoI is a formal know how letter, to read the actual capabilities of the program. Avenger is the most advanced combat drone available today, Who yet to see combat missions. The Avgener program still on development and testing stages. While US and Canada yet to order those Platforms from GA.

     Indian Air force is in full swing to modernize the fighter aircraft fleet, support platforms, air defense systems  and the unmanned fleet. India recently inks a deal to buy Israeli Eitan armed drone's for some $400 millions, the delivery's commence from 2017. Meanwhile the Indigenous Rustom 2 all set to perform airborne trails before the end of this year. IAF operates variety of drones from small to High altitude long endurance drones. However India yet to operates or demonstrated an attack drone. Since Chinese and Pakistani forces already operating them.

    Avenger is developed from the MQ 9 Reaper drone, While the Avenger is modified with more powerful turbofan engines and internal weapon bays and reduced radar cross section. The Avenger is first in kind of stealth drones, primarily designed to strike targets deep behind enemy lines in a contested air space. which is perfectly suits Indian's need of Strike targets deep behind Pakistan, more clearly anywhere in Pakistan.

    The Avenger comes with some extraordinary modern sensor packages and electronic counter measure systems. The primary Radar in the Avenger is the Lynx SAR radar. which is used for surveillance and target tracking. The SAR images can be analyzed in the ground control center and the Avenger's EO/IR sensors can lock the target and launch missiles for precision kills.

    The Avenger carries a modified model of EOTS systems which is used in the F 35. EOTS is an advanced technology of evolved OSF and IRST, which uses infrared's to detect targets both in ground and air. The EOTS can track, classify, lock and launch laser guided missiles at longer ranges. During an evaluation EOTS performed pin point strike at the range of some sixty kilometers. The EOTS in the Avenger called as Advanced low observable embedded reconnaissance and targeting system or ALERT.

     The Avenger can fly as much as height of some 50,000 feet, well above from civil air traffic. Avenger can stay in the air for long time to continuously patrol the designated zone for activities. Avenger can continuously fly more than eighteen hours at the speed of some 700 kmph, Avenger is the only combat drone in the world that can fly such high subsonic speed. The Avenger combat drone can be carried by the C 17 Strategic air lifter, Which can be launched from the C 17 at some specified altitude.  

     Avenger can carry more than 1500 kg's of payload in it's internal weapon bays, which include guided bombs and glide bombs. While the Avenger yet to fire stand off cruise missiles. The external hard points can carry guided missiles like hell fire for anti armor support. mostly used for destroying enemy mobile air defense batteries. The Internal weapons bay can reduce the RCS signatures makes the drone nearly stealth when flying at the civil traffic altitude.

Chinese CH 4 Wingloong UAV

       The Chinese made CH 4 drone is performing strike missions in Iraq. It's clear that Pakistan too gets their hands on those drone very soon. While Indian plans are yet to materialize. The Eitan attack drones and the Rustom will perform missions only after 2018. Even if the Avenger deal initiated Indian air force gets those drones only after 2020. So there is two to three years cap in compared to China and Pakistan.

      During the last MTCR Meeting, India requested the thirty four nations organization to accept India as a member. Unfortunately the countries blocked India's request. Americans presence also in the meeting, they voted in favor of Indians. The MTCR is a organization who blocks exporting armed drones and missiles who has range more than 300 kilometer and payload over 500 Kg's. Russia also in the MCTR. the reason why Brahmos missile's range capped at 300 kilometers.

     So Buying the Avenger UCAV needs MTCR Membership, while US has no problem to supply drones to Indian Air force even India don't have the MTCR membership. Washington supplies most advanced US technology's to India to fight against China and Pakistan. The recent developments in Make in India program and carrier transfer technology is good examples.

India to buy attack drone IAI Eitan from Israel

India to buy attack drone IAI Eitan from Israel

    The Indian Air force all set to induct combat drones from Israel within a year, an agreement reached with Indian Ministry and Israeli aircraft industries to supply the attack drone IAI Eitan, ground control station, modification of exiting air base to accommodate much larger drone, weapon packages, and spare parts, the deal valued more than some $400 millions, with the price tag of $40 million per plane, IAF plans to induct nearly 10 Eitan drones in it's attack drone fleet, 

  The Indian air force planned to induct the attack drones by earlier 2012, and sought foreign drones, meantime DRDO proposed Rustom 2 drone with attack capabilities, and promised to deliver within a matter of time, however the progress of Rustom 2 is not going well, as Chinese already developed and  testing a drone similar to US MQ 9 Reaper drone dubbed wing loong, the Pakistani's also performed a battlefield UAV with attack capabilities, and India yet to catch up.

   It's hard to digest that IAF asked to purchase some attack drones from Israel, who is willing to sale only to India, however with some political reasons the UPA government denied to allocate funds to buy attack drones, and the new government already briefed by the IAF several times, and they cleared the deal by now, last week the NSA Chief Ajit Doval due a visit to Israel and met some Israeli officials, within a days some Israeli officials too visited Delhi and sealed the deal.

   Israel is known as a reliable partner to India, who ready to sell it's state of art technology to India with transferring critical technologies, It's believed that IAI might allow the DRDO team to inspect and study the Eitan drone and continue work on the Indigenous Rustom 2 drone,

   IAF may think to establish a new drone base somewhere in western front, by deploying those attack drones to monitor the  international border, IAF already operating array of Israeli drones including the Heron drone similar to Eitan and target drones like Harpy and Haroop. the Eitan is developed based on the Heron UAV, sharing similar airframe and characteristics, the Navy and Airforce operates more than fifty such drones for recon purpose.

   The Eitan is an MALE- Medium Altitude and Long Endurance UAV's ,means they can operate in the medium altitude some 30,000 feet to 50,000 feet, and stay in the air for more than 30 hours, to conduct recon missions continuously, the earlier Heron is lack of range due to it's data link and control methods, Heron can perform mission inside a circle of 350 km, because it is designed to patrol the designated area for more than a days

   The Eitan something like the American MQ 9 Reaper, or more powerful than the Reaper, the Eitan is designed to fly above the commercial air traffic that is 30,000 to 40,000 feet, because of long endurance the Eitan can stay above the commercial air line for more than a day, the Eitan can fly above some 45,000 feet and perform recon missions, the huge wing helps the Eitan to fly very low to perform strike mission and within a matter of time it can reach the higher altitude to continue the surveillance, the Earlier Heron is not designed to fly such high altitude, it's fly below some 10,000 feet, the American MQ 9 is also share same characteristics of flying altitude.

   The drones are powered by turboprop engines, so they were slow speed and subsonic, the Eitan uses the Canadian Pratt and Whitney engines which delivers 1200 horse power way too powerful than the American Reaper, which accelerates the Eitan to reach more than 300 kilometers per hour in normal flight speed, the reaper is much faster than the Eitan, the IAI Eitan is much larger drone, with the length of some 13 meters and a wing span of some 26 meter similar wing size to the Boeing 737 Commercial Air Plane.

   Once the Eitan fully fueled, it can stay in the air for more than 36 hours, with the use of Satellite communication it can perform mission with the range of some 7,000 kilometers, one of the very few drone who works on the beyond line of sight, and it's possible even if the Base is located in Delhi, the drone can perform attack mission deep behind enemy lines, similar capabilities is not available in any other drones, except the US Navy MQ 4 Global Hawk.

   Originally the Israeli's made the Eitan to attack Iranian long rang missiles in it's launch pads, that's the main reason of increased Range and Endurance, and Israel tested the drone by flying more than 20 hours with beyond line of Sight, the Drone can't be jammed by it's signal since it uses secured satellite communication and uses pre- programed flight routes in  communication denied air spaces, the onboard system allows the Drone return to Base if the mission is compromised or successful,

   The Eitan carries upto one ton of payload's in it's center line, with a quad packed Hellfire anti armor missiles, precision and laser guided munitions and Spice missiles, IAF receives such weapons and armaments along with the $400 million deal, Israeli's used the Eitan during the Israel Palestine war The drone dropped precision guided munitions against a moving armed convoy. and some Strike missions against the Terrorists in Sinai peninsula.

   With the induction of armed drones gives an upper edge to India by conducting strike missions against infiltrators along the international border, earlier the Recon drones gives moving information to the army commands, while they send Soldiers to confront them, and from now they never risk the Soldiers life, if anyone tries to Infiltrate the border, the Eitan comes from the Sky and drop the munition without any warning, and It's a boost to IAF that in future they can conduct strike missions inside Pakistan by targeting terrorists camps.