In a move which is set to enhance unmanned warfare capability of Indian Air Force (IAF), the Defence Ministry on Tuesday approved the proposal to acquire 54 Israeli HAROP attack drones which can destroy the high-value enemy military targets completely by directly crashing into them. It is to be noted that the IAF already has an inventory of around 110 of these drones, which are equipped with electro-optical sensors. These sensors allow the drones to move over high-value military targets such as surveillance bases and radar stations before destroying them. “A proposal to acquire these 54 attack drones was approved by the Defence Ministry at a high-level meeting last week,” defence sources told ANI. IAF officials said that the approval would certainly add to the strength of the Air Force which is set to showcase the capabilities of the missile during the forthcoming Exercise Vayushakti where the drones would be shown destroying a simulated enemy radar target.
Indian and Israeli defence officials are also holding discussions over Project Cheetah under which almost all the drones of the three services would be turned into high-quality attack drones. Israel will also help in enhacing the surveillance capabilities of all drones. Meanwhile, Indian security agencies are also developing indigenous combat drones which would be deployed on both the China and Pakistan border in the near future. Combat drones are used by the American forces to target terrorist leaders in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan.
Countries Using IAI Harop
 Azerbaijan
 Germany
 India
 Israel
 Turkey
IAI Harop Specifications
General characteristics
- Crew:Â None
- Length:Â 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
- Wingspan:Â 3.00 m (9 ft 10 in)
Performance
- Range:Â 1000 km ( miles)
- Endurance: 6 hours 0 min
Armament
- 23 kg (51 lb) warhead
A MiG-27 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed on Tuesday in Eta village in Pokaran tehsil of Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district, a defence official said. A MiG-27 aircraft airborne for a training mission from Jaisalmer crashed at around 1810 hrs near Pokhran Range. Pilot ejected safely. A Court of Inquiry will investigate the cause of the accident.
The first batch of four Chinook helicopters for the Indian Air Force arrived at the Mundra Port in Gujarat. India has procured 15 of these helicopters from the United States. The government of India has signed contract with M/s Boeing USA and Letter of Agreement (LOA) with US Government on 28th September, 2015 for purchase of Apache Attack Helicopters. A contract with M/s Boeing, USA has also been signed on 28th September, 2015 for purchase of Chinook heavy lift helicopters. Defence equipment are imported as per the operational requirements of the Armed Forces.
There has been a significant increase in the spectrum of activities undertaken by NCC especially in the field of social service and community development. NCC is actively participating in Swachhta Abhiyan, AIDS Awareness, Digital Literacy, Immunization, Tree Plantation, Anti-Drug Campaign, Water Conservation measures, etc. The expansion of NCC has been planned from 13 lakh to 15 lakh cadets in a phased manner from 2014-15 to 2020-21 period. Full NCC coverage of all the Government schools and colleges will require substantial commitment in terms of manpower, finance, infrastructure, etc. There is therefore no proposal to make NCC compulsory for the students of schools and colleges in the country.
During the last three years, following efforts have been made by the Government to improve the capabilities of HAL. For establishment of major servicing facility for Hawk-132 aircraft, Government of India (GoI) has sanctioned Rs.450.59 Crore in February, 2016. For Repair and Overhaul (RoH) Facility for Adour Mk 871-07 engines, GoI has sanctioned Rs.205.65 Crore in March, 2016. For ramping up of manufacturing facility of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas from existing 8 to 16 aircraft per annum, GoI has sanctioned Rs.1381.04 Crore in March, 2017 with 50% funding by GoI. For enhancement of RoH capacity of Su-30 MKI from existing 15 to 20 aircraft and aggregates from 15 to 35 aircraft sets per annum, GoI has sanctioned Rs.1324.33 Crore in April, 2017. For establishment of RoH facility for 3 Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) of Adour Mk 871-07 engines fitted on Hawk Mk 132 aircraft GoI has sanctioned Rs.60.72 Crore in August, 2017.
Two contracts were signed between Indian Air Force (IAF) and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., (HAL) for procurement of (i) 20 Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) standard aircraft (16 IOC fighters and 4 IOC trainers) on 31st March 2006 to be completed by December 2011 and (ii) 20 Final Operational Clearance (FOC) standard aircraft (16 FOC fighters and 4 FOC trainers) on 23rd December 2010 to be completed by December 2016. At the time of placement of IOC order in 2006, it was expected that Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), who is the Programme Management Agency will obtain IOC in 2008 after which delivery was planned till December 2011. However, IOC has been achieved by ADA in December 2013 that too only for 16 fighter version IOC aircraft, after which only, HAL could take up production and first IOC fighter aircraft was delivered in 2016-17. Till date, out of total 16 IOC fighter aircraft, 12 fighters have been delivered to IAF. HAL plans to deliver the balance 4 IOC fighter aircraft by March 2019. ADA has handed over Drawing Applicability List (DAL) and Equipment Standard of Preparation (SOP) documents, for FOC configuration to HAL on 31st December 2018 duly cleared by centre of Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) to go ahead with the production of FOC fighter aircraft. Accordingly, HAL has taken up the production of LCA, FOC fighter aircraft.
