Aug 19, 2009, post by awatrobski
The ALUDRA (Allianced Unmanned Developmental Research Aircraft) UAV, deployed by the Malaysian Joint Forces in Ops Pasir at Pandanan and Sipadan Resorts, will be launched early next year.
Defence Minister Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi informed the UAV was capable of sending data and photographs to the operation center for analysis in order for quick follow-up action to be taken. “Although I am happy with the UAV, I hope that it can be improved, particularly the area of coverage and length of flying time during operations. We have to make some improvements so that the UAV is suited to the local climate, wind circulation, and topography,” he added after visiting Kem Sri Wangsa and witnessing a test drive of the ALUDRA UAV. Zaid said Malaysia needed six UAV for surveillance and intelligence work to assist the army, air force and navy in protecting the country’s 1,700 kilometre coastline. He added Malaysia also had a prototype UAV which did not need a runway to take-off, thus saving the cost of building infrastructure. The ALUDRA UAV was manufactured by Unmanned Systems Technology Sdn Bhd (UST).
Aug 19, 2009, post by awatrobski
The Dominator II (“Oz”), developed by Israel-based Aeronautics, is the world’s first UAV based on a certified civilian aircraft.
The Dominator II is based on the manned DA-42 aircraft produced by Austrian Diamond Aircraft, and which has logged over 360,000 flight hours and is a fully certified all-weather civilian aircraft. Over 640 manned units of this type have been produced since 2005. The Dominator II is the world’s first UAV based on a manned aircraft with full civilian certification. If until now the global UAV market focused predominantly on the defense sector, the Dominator II is the first UAV also designed for the civilian market. The fact that the UAV is based on an existing platform with many hours of accumulated operating experience lends the Dominator II high credibility and efficiency, and actually paves the way for UAVs to enter the civilian market, which to date has abstained from operating UAVs, as they have lacked civilian aircraft certification for these systems.
Aug 19, 2009, post by awatrobski
The Indian Defence ministry has approved another major induction of UAVs for armed forces, with surveillance and intelligence-gathering missions becoming critical on the western and eastern fronts as well as along the huge coastline.
The Indian Army is going in for two more “troops” (six to eight birds each) of sophisticated Heron UAVs from Israel for Rs 1,118 crore, after getting the nod from the Defence Acquisitions Council headed by defence minister A. K. Antony. The 1.13-million strong force has also projected a demand of seven “troops” of the Rustom drones being developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation and Aeronautical Development Establishment in a Rs 1,000 crore project with Israeli help. As a MALE (medium-altitude, long-endurance) drone, Rustom will be capable of operating for 24 hours, with a 300-km range and a 10,000-metre maximum altitude. The Army is already inducting the indigenous Nishant and Lakshya UAVs.
Similarly, the Indian Navy’s case for two more Israeli UAVs at a cost of Rs 386 crore has also been approved, in addition to the ongoing Rs 1,163 crore joint project between Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and DRDO for NRUAVs (naval rotary UAVs). Thev Navy is already using its UAV fleet of eight Searcher-II and four Herons for maritime surveillance up to 200 nautical miles. With Army planning to induct these miniature spy drones right down to the battalion-level by 2017, it’s keen they also be capable of carrying explosives for “hard kill” of “light targets”.
Apart from regular infantry units, Para (Special Forces) battalions will also get “stealthy” drones for covert missions beyond enemy lines and counter-terrorism operations. The armed forces had gone in for a major infusion of Israeli UAVs after the 1999 Kargil conflict and the 2002 Operation Parakram in the wake of Parliament terror attack. At present, they have more than 100 UAVs, primarily Israeli ones such Searcher-II and Heron, as also some “killer drones” crafted to detect and destroy enemy radars by functioning like cruise missiles. While the aim in the 11th Plan (2007-2012) period is to also induct armed drones like the American ‘Predators’, which are being successfully used to take on Taliban in Af-Pak region with their ‘Hellfire’ missiles, the eventual objective is to have full-fledged UCAVs (unmanned combat aerial vehicles). The plan, as of now, is to further boost the snooping capabilities of armed forces as well as fully-integrate UAVs with weapon platforms for delivering precision-guided munitions.
