INDIAN AIR FORCES PERSPECTIVE ON RPA

GROUP CAPTAIN G S CHAUHAN

INTRODUCTION
INCREASING CONTRIBUTION OF RPA IN MILITARY CAMPAIGNS. EVOLUTION FROM SURVEILLANCE PLATFORM TO FULL - FLEDGED WEAPON SYSTEM. WIDE RANGE OF MISSION CAPABILITIES.

Reference: AIR HQ/S 96104/ASR

SCOPE
BACKGROUND RECENT DEVELOPMENTS LIMITATIONS DESIRED CAPABILITIES IAF REQUIREMENTS FUTURE PLAN CONSTRAINTS CONCLUSION

Reference: AIR HQ/S 96104/ASR

BACKGROUND
RPA QUALITIES
CAPACITY FOR SUSTAINED SURVEILLANCE. PRECISION STRIKE CAPABILITY. MODEST COST. NO RISK TO HUMAN LIFE.

Reference: AIR HQ/S 96104/ASR

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
INTEGRATION OF A VAST ARRAY OF SENSORS. MINIATURISATION OF SENSORS AND WEAPONS PAYLOADS. HIGH BANDWIDTH DATA LINK NETWORKS.

Reference: AIR HQ/S 96104/ASR

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
NEAR-AUTONOMOUS FLIGHT CONTROL CAPABILITY RENDERED POSSIBLE BY
MICROCHIP CAPABILITIES. IMPROVEMENTS IN FLIGHT CONTROL SOFTWARE. IMPROVED HYBRID IN/ GPS SYSTEMS.

Reference: AIR HQ/S 96104/ASR

LIMITATIONS
RESTRICTED FIELD OF VIEW OF CAMERAS. LACK OF SELF PROTECTION CAPABILITY. RUNWAY DEPENDENCY. LIMITED MANEUVERABILITY.

Reference: AIR HQ/S 96104/ASR

DESIRED CAPABILITIES
PLATFORMS WITH JET ENGINES. SATCOM DATA LINK BASED CONTROL. DIGITAL DATA LINK. COMBINED GROUND STATIONS. CONVENTIONAL COCKPIT CONTROLS FOR TAKE OFF AND LANDING.

WEAPONISATION.

Reference: AIR HQ/S 96104/ASR

DESIRED CAPABILITIES
STEALTHY /LOW RCS BY INNOVATIVE DESIGNS AND USE OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS. ADVANCES IN AIR PROPULSION INCREASED FUEL EFFICIENCY. USE OF HEAVY FUELS.

Reference: AIR HQ/S 96104/ASR

DESIRED CAPABILITIES
MULTI TARGET VIEWING CAPABILITY. STEP AND STARE CAMERAS WITH AUTO MOSAICING CAPABILITY. AUTO TARGET RECOGNITION AND CHANGE DETECTION. HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO QUALITY SAR WITH ELECTRONIC BEAM STEERING.

Reference: AIR HQ/S 96104/ASR

DESIRED CAPABILITIES
ELINT PAYLOADS WITH HIGHER GEO LOCATION ACCURACY. CAPABILITY OF INTERCEPTING MOBILE AND SATELLITE PHONE COMMUNICATIONS. IED DETECTION PAYLOADS. HYPERSPECTRAL PAYLOADS.

Reference: AIR HQ/S 96104/ASR

IAF REQUIREMENTS
IAF REQUIREMENT CONCEIVED IN MID-80s. RECENT RPA CAMPAIGNS WORLD - WIDE CONDUCTED UNDER AIR SUPREMACY. IAF CAMPAIGNS WOULD MEET SIGNIFICANT AIR OPPOSITION. NEED FOR SELF PROTECTION SUITES. USE OF IFF AND TCAS FOR AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT.

Reference: AIR HQ/S 96104/ASR

IAF REQUIREMENTS
DIFFICULT TERRAIN CONDITIONS. AND WEATHER

ANTI ICING / ICING PREVENTION METHODS. ADVERSE WEATHER OPERATIONS. AUTOMATIC SYSTEMS FOR LAUNCH AND RECOVERY.

Reference: AIR HQ/S 96104/ASR

FUTURE PLAN
MIX OF HALE, MALE, UCAVS, EXPENDABLE AND RECOVERABLE DRONES AND MICRO-RPAS. DEVELOPMENT OF INDIGENOUS CAPABILITY. INTEROPERABILITY AMONGST THE RPA ASSETS WITHIN THE COUNTRY. CENTERS FOR INTELLIGENCE GATHERING AND DISSEMINATION.

Reference: AIR HQ/S 96104/ASR

CONSTRAINTS
MTCR. LIMITED VENDOR BASE.

Reference: AIR HQ/S 96104/ASR

CONCLUSION

Reference: AIR HQ/S 96104/ASR

THANK YOU

Reference: AIR HQ/S 96104/ASR