Four unmanned planes in air for surveillance of Gujarat coast

The Indian Navy today commissioned a squadron of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at Porbandar in Gujarat.

The new Indian Navy Air Squadron (INAS) 343 consists four unmanned surveillance planes at Porbandar to strengthen its air surveillance capabilities along the Gujarat coast.

Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal formally commissioned the squadron at Porbandar today morning.

The new Squadron will operate the Israeli-made Searcher MkII(two small planes) and Heron UAVs(two big planes).

According to Manohar Nambiar, PRO Indian Navy Western Command Mumbai, the planes have facility of video shooting, communication intercepting and photography. The data would be transmitted to Porbandar based Navy station in real time.

The Searcher MkII has a cruise speed of about 100 knots, a service ceiling of 20,000 feet and an 18-hour endurance. The Heron can touch speeds of over 100 knots with a service ceiling of 30,000 feet and an endurance of 40 hours.

The first squadron of unmanned planes INAS 342, is based in Kochi. A third squadron is set to be raised at Ramanathapuram on the Tamil Nadu coast.

India has contracted an unspecified number of UAVS — possibly around 200 — from Israel. UAVs are also in use in the army and the air force. They have been used in counter-Naxalite operations by the central police forces.

The navy is also on the lookout for High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) UAVs for which a Request for Information (RFI) was issued last year. It is also searching for a shipborne unmanned rotorcraft (miniature unmanned helicopter) for reconnaissance operations while at sea.

In the HALE UAV RFI, the navy stated that it was looking for a platform with an all-up weight of less than 15 tons, with at least 25-hour mission endurance, a cruise speed of 100 knots and a service ceiling of 40,000 feet.