New Delhi: Nagpur based Solar Industries has delivered to Indian Army the first batch of Nagastra-1, first-of-its-kind man-portable suicide drones. These drones hit precisely the launch pads, enemy training camps and infiltrators without putting soldiers’ lives in jeopardy.
According to sources, the Indian Army has ordered 480 Loiter Munitions from Solar Industries’ Economics Explosives Ltd (EEL) under Emergency Procurement Powers.
At least 120 Loiter Munitions were delivered by EEL to an Army Ammunition Depot following a positive conclusion of pre-delivery inspections, they added.
According to The Economic Times, drones were shipped within a year after the army used its emergency procurement rights to acquire them to fulfil critical requirements on the borders with China and Pakistan. Nagastra-1 is also capable of operating in extremely cold or high-altitude conditions.
These EEL-developed drones have a range of about 30 kilometres and are capable of performing GPS-enabled precise hits with an accuracy of two metres.
The electric unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with fixed wings can operate for 60 minutes and has a range of 15 km in man-in-loop and 30 km in autonomous mode.
In addition to night and day monitoring cameras, the loiter munition is equipped with a fragmenting warhead designed for eliminating soft-skin targets.
If a target is not discovered or the mission is cancelled, the loiter munition may be brought back and softly landed using a parachute recovery system, allowing it to be reused numerous times.
The Nagastra 1 reduces reliance on other sources because over 75% of its material is indigenous.
The maximum value of these emergency procurement agreements is ₹300 crores, as per Mint.
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