India to purchase 97 ‘Made-in-India’ drones for over Rs 10,000 crore to keep an eye on China, Pak borders

India will bolster its surveillance system even further in order to monitor the borders with China and Pakistan. 97 “Made in India” drones will be purchased by the Indian Defence Force to be used for border monitoring with Pakistan and China. This information was provided by government sources on Monday.

After the decision to buy 31 Predator drones from the US, India is now moving towards buying 97 highly capable drones under the ‘Make-in-India’ project.

According to government sources, 97 of these drones would be purchased for the Indian forces in order to satisfy the requirements for medium altitude, long endurance, and to maintain surveillance on both land and water. This decision followed a scientific assessment that the defence forces conducted together.

According to government sources, the Indian Air Force will be procuring these drones at a cost of over Rs 10,000 crore, as they are also getting the largest number of unmanned aerial vehicles that will be able to fly continuously for 30 hours.

In addition to the current fleet of over 46 Heron UAVs that the three forces have included in their individual fleets over the past few years, the forces will soon receive more drones. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), in collaboration with original equipment manufacturers and using more than 60% Indian content, is upgrading the drones that are already in operation. To achieve this, we must strengthen our domestic skills.