BAE's hi-tech UAV to debut at Aero India

[tyagi]

BAE's hi-tech UAV to debut at Aero India

: BAE Systems will have its biggest-ever presence at Aero India 2009 with the British aero major launching its newly
developed autonomous air vehicle, Mantis, for the first time at an international air show. This is significant as ADA India is heavily into UAVs with the launch of its indigenous Nishanth.

BAE Systems' theme for the event is `Autonomy - specifically autonomous air vehicles'. Apart from Mantis, the new autonomous Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) being developed by BAE Systems, Herti, another UAV, will hold pride of place outside the BAE Systems pavilion.

Defence experts point out: "India has already gone in for the Hawk from BAE. An UAV like Mantis would be very useful in terms of technologies that we can learn. While Nishanth is good, we hear Mantis is highly sophisticated. There is a good chance that we can collaborate with BAE on UAVs."

With an entire pavilion for itself, BAE Systems will be displaying products from across our aerospace capabilities, including the Typhoon and Hawk. There will be products not displayed in India before, such as special seating for helicopters that protect aircrew from spinal injuries in crashes and hard landing -- the leading cause of injury to heli pilots.

The Mantis itself is a technology demonstrator programme and brings together technologies, capabilities and systems that will demonstrate the potential of a large unmanned autonomous aircraft.

Phase one of the programme will see BAE Systems working alongside the UK MoD and industrial parties, including Rolls-Royce, QinetiQ, GE Aviation, SELEX Galileo and Meggitt.

Mark Kane, managing director of autonomous systems and future capability at BAE Systems, said: "Mantis is another important step forward in the development of UAS capabilities. The aim is to prove that the integrated technologies on Mantis, that build on several years of autonomous UAS experience within BAE Systems and the wider UK industry, can provide the tangible military capability and levels of performance required for the future."

BAE's hi-tech UAV to debut at Aero India-Bangalore-Cities-The Times of India

hope india buys it some day

 

[indiatech]

DRDO's Rustom UAV on display for the first time

 

[acer]

Today it is is free to view aero India...On other days they will charge
350/ rs Nice pictures...Any technical specifications..?

 

[duhastmish]

LCRA -UAV

 

[aimarraul]

looks good

 

[heartwinlion]

any further detail abt that

 

[Neo]

Doesn't look very hitech to me.

 

[forcetrip]

I truly hate to say this.. but that rustum uav looks more like our local mini bus .. they could have actually done a better job painting it ..

 

[shrivatsa]

Blue one is the mock up and other is a kind of testbed,the contract to build these i.e rustom will be given to a private company

Tata, L&T, Godrej & Boyce put in bids for drone project - Home - livemint.com
Bangalore: In a first for an Indian military aircraft programme, private sector firms Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T), Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd have bid to develop and build an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or drone, used in surveillance operations.
The three companies, and a fourth bidder—a combine of state-owned defence equipment makers Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Bharat Electronics Ltd—submitted their bids on 15 May to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) aircraft, named Rustom, which will be designed to fly at least 250km at a stretch.India’s market for MALE drones is expected to touch $800 mn by 2016“Now, a technical evaluation will be done before identifying the lead partner,” said P.S. Krishnan, director of the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), the DRDO unit that has built drones such as Nishant for the military. He said a decision would be taken later this year.
The three private sector firms declined to comment.
Given the sensitive nature of defence projects, private firms had been restricted to being component suppliers or sub-contractors in military plane programmes, while state-owned agencies or firms such as DRDO and Hindustan Aeronautics have led and managed the projects.
In 2002, India opened up defence equipment production to private sector companies and even allowed up to 26% foreign direct investment in such ventures.
In the US, private sector companies such as Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. compete for military plane projects. The F-16 is built by Lockheed, while Boeing builds the F-18. Both firms get enormous support from the US government.
Russia and China, on the other hand, allow only state-funded firms to build planes for their military.
L&T, India’s largest engineering company, Godrej and the Tata group have dedicated divisions that supply parts to the country’s space and aerospace industry.
Godrej & Boyce supplies the Vikas engines for India’s rockets, while the Tata group builds components for Hindustan Aeronautics, DRDO and the Indian Space Research Organisation.
L&T makes military vessels for the Navy, and has built a radar with Bharat Electronics for the Army, in addition to being involved in other aerospace projects.
ADE is testing a technology demonstrator, or a bare prototype, of Rustom. Once a vendor is selected, it and ADE will design an enhanced version of Rustom, which is meant to replace the Israeli Heron drones currently in use.
Typically, the cost of producing one set of five Rustom vehicles with five sets of spares, payload and ground handling equipment would be around Rs250 crore, ADE said in its tender.
The partner, once selected, will build the drone, test and certify it, and provide maintenance services. It will also work on converting Rustom into an unmanned combat aerial vehicle, in addition to developing future versions of the drone.
India’s market for MALE UAVs, the class of drones used for surveillance, border patrolling and exploration, is expected to touch $800 million (Rs3,768 crore) by 2016, according to research firm Frost and Sullivan.
Despite India being a major customer for global military aircraft makers, its own aerospace industry is nascent. The country has built a few aircraft such as Tejas, a light combat aircraft; Dhruv, an advanced light helicopter; Saras, a 14-seater passenger plane; and Nishant. Only Dhruv and Nishant have been inducted into the forces.
None of these projects involved private sector firms in design and development.

 

[sancho]

Anything known about armed Indian UAVs comparable to Mantis, or Predator?

 

[PeacefulIndian]

Doesn't look very hitech to me.

These are our secret tactics you know

We have kept all the sophisticated machinery inside & painted it like a local bus from outside so that no one knows its real capabilities

On a serious note, still a lot of time has to pass by if India has to build something like Predator drones.