Page 24 - ADT JANUARY 2021 Online Magazine

General Atomics, have been leased for one year. [ UNMANNED SYSTEMS ]

Now the navy is on the lookout for an unmanned survey vessel in
line with the global interests in unmanned surface vessels (USV)
that are to be used for a myriad functions. Mathew George, Ph.D.,
Aerospace & Defense Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and
analytics company, says: “With proper planning and deployment,
the use of USVs will allow the navy to conduct certain missions
Remote safely and in most instances more efficiently and with the overall
cost lower than similar manned operations.

An interesting point in the Request for Information (RFI) is the
requirement for the applicant entity to be an Indian vendor that
is in line with the guidelines laid down by the Defence Acquisition
Procedure 2020. “This prerequisite is a clear push to ensure that
local industry gets an opportunity to develop their offerings, and
the ready availability of expertise, parts and services to the Indian
Control Navy in case there's a requirement,” George says.

THE INDIAN NAVY IS ON THE India's long-term aim at indigenization of critical technologies got
LOOKOUT FOR AN UNMANNED a boost through the government's reforms in the midst of the pan-
SURVEY VESSEL demic as it laid down new rules that limited the contracts below
a certain value to Indian companies and opened up areas with
the aim to be a global manufacturing and export hub for defence
Jay Menon equipment. “Moving away from policies and providing opportunities
for companies to participate will be crucial for local companies
The current trends in the Indian Navy indicate to prove their technologies before being taken seriously in for-
a move towards reconfiguring surface war- eign markets. However, it will be interesting to see whether a final
ships as ‘Drone Mothership’ that can launch purchase is made within the timelines suggested, or whether like
and recover unmanned maritime and air plat- other announcements, they are caught in red tape and eventual
forms. At the heart of ‘Drone Mothership’ is the cancellations,” he adds.
idea of ‘coordinated and controlled autonomy’
under which motherships will operate ahead Autonomous unmanned combat vehicles that can operate in the
of the fleet or deployed at strategic locations. air, on the surface and under the surface are of great interest to
They could also function as the Command and all navies because of their ability to remain on task for extended
Control Centre for unmanned vessels operating periods of time and extend combat operations into the adver-
in the area. Recently the Indian Navy had leased sary’s anti- access/area denial zone. The navy also operates the
a pair of MQ-9B SeaGuardian unmanned aerial Heron and Searcher class of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and
vehicles (UAVs) from the United States to boost has a programme for arming the UAVs and developing a bigger
its intelligence, surveillance and reconnais- and more capable platform i.e. Rustom. The Defence Research
sance capabilities. The two MQ-9Bs, a variant and Development Organisation (DRDO) is also developing an
of the Predator B drones manufactured by Autonomous Sea Vehicle akin to a submarine drone.

24 | January 2021 WWW .GBP .COM.SG/ ADT