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| IAI Heron 1 UAV (Image: Wiki Commons) |
By Franz-Stefan Gady
New Delhi recently approved a $ 400 million deal for the purchase of armed Heron TP UAVs.
The Indian government has approved the procurement of ten missile-armed Heron TP (aka IAI Eitan) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to be operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF) The Economic Times reports.
The $400 million procurement program was revived at the beginning of 2015 by the highest levels of government–the Indian military already wanted to purchase armed Heron drones in 2012 but did not get the political backing–and the first drones are slated to enter Indian service within a year, according to a source interviewed by the Economic Times.
Produced by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the Heron TP is a medium-altitude, long endurance UAV with a range of around 7,400 kilometers (4,600 miles) and a maximum flight time of around 36 hours in favorable weather conditions.
Read the full story at The Diplomat