Next time you spot a bee or dragonfly around you, take a closer look. What might appear to be an annoying insect could turn out to be a miniature (or nano) drone being controlled by someone far away. This isn’t science fiction but science fact – as unmanned aerial vehicle technology advances, drones are getting smaller. Packing a lot of functionality into a tiny form factor, nano drones are becoming a major military tool. Not only do they offer a quantum leap in surveillance capability, but they also hold the possibility of conducting swarm attacks on the enemy.
According to Group Captain Atul Pant, a serving member of the Indian Air Force, in the future, new generation aerial drones will be at the center stage of military operations in warfare, in both lethal and non-lethal roles. In a paper titled ‘Aerial Drones in Future Wars: A Conceptual Perspective’, presented at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, he writes: “Modern disruptive technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, miniaturized electronics, composites, etc, are taking the capabilities of unmanned systems to new highs and increasing autonomy in their usage by turning them into smart and intelligent machines. With further advancement of technology, their role in warfare is set to increase exponentially.”
Much of the action is currently happening in the United States which is developing advanced nano drones with unique capabilities. For instance, the Black Hornet from FLIR is designed to be used as part of the US Army’s Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) programme – tools carried by an individual soldier to support small unit-level surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. More than 12,000 Black Hornet nano-UAVs have been delivered to defense and security forces worldwide.
Measuring less than 17 cm across and weighing under 33 grams, the drones have a range of nearly 2 km at speeds of up to 21 kmph. They are able to fly for up to 25 minutes on a single charge. In addition, they can take HD photos and provide live video feeds. Data sent to operators on the ground, equipped with a handheld ground control station (GCS) unit which communicates with the drone, is encrypted.
“Extremely light, nearly silent, and with a flight time up to 25 minutes, the combat-proven, pocketsized Black Hornet PRS (personal reconnaissance system) transmits live video and HD still images back to the operator,” says a FLIR press release. “It’s information feed provides soldiers with immediate covert situational awareness to help them perform missions more effectively.”
In Japan, the University of Tokyo unveiled the Dragon drone, a mini UAV made up of a number of small drones and is capable of changing its shape in midair. Moreover, it can determine what shape to take based on the space in which it is navigating.
Closer home
China has a successful military UAV programme, which has been supplying drones to buyers across the world. The varieties of Chinese drones probably now exceed those in the US. The Chinese are alleged to have developed its UAVs on pilfered and reverse engineered technologies but have subsequently improved upon them to develop the current state-of-the-art ones. Chinese CH-4 UCAVs have already seen employment by the Iraq military in several hundred missions against rebels.
In 2017, the attack drone GJ-2 flew over the 8,848-meter-high Mount Everest, demonstrating Beijing’s ability to monitor Indian military movements round the clock. China’s EA-03 high-altitude, the long-endurance drone is publicised to have a range of 7,000 km, a maximum endurance of 36 hours, advanced command communications, and electronic warfare systems. In October 2018, China demonstrated the TW-365 heavy-lift cargo drone, and successfully tested the world’s largest unmanned transport drone capable of carrying up to 1.5 tonnes of load.
At the same time, China is strengthening its surveillance network with birdlike small drones. The Chinese government’s “Dove” programme has been building small drones that resemble birds. In the past few years, at least 30 military and government agencies have deployed these fake birds in five provinces.
Continue reading your story on the app
Continue reading your story in the magazine
MEETING NEW AIR AND MISSILE THREATS
The Indian Air Force has begun substantial modernisation of its strategic air defences. But while progress has undoubtedly been made, strategic SAM defences remain weak, writes SANJAY BADRI MAHARAJ
EXPENSIVE BUT INDISPENSABLE AIRPOWER
AMIT GUPTA argues why given the harsh economic challenges facing the country, which is not unique to India, the best way to afford an effective air force is to plan differently but smartly by going for techno-globalisation rather than futile techno-nationalism
IAF INDIGENISATION REALISTIC TARGETS ARE NEEDED
India cannot and must not expect complete indigenisation. The tendency to view Indian efforts in terms of indigenous content is singularly unhelpful. While increasing indigenization is necessary, economies of scale, costs, and realistic appraisal of the level of technology transfer have to be taken into consideration, argues SANJAY BADRI MAHARAJ
EVERGREEN RUSSIAN FACTOR IN EVOLUTION OF IAF
AMIT COWSHISH argues why it is hard to ignore the Russian factor in India’s military capability
NANO DRONES: A BIG IMPACT ON THE BATTLEFIELD
Nano drones, the advanced systems that pack a lot of functionality into a tiny form factor, are becoming a major military tool. With China having a huge lead, India needs to get its act together, argues RAKESH KRISHNAN SIMHA
BEING SELF-RELIANT IN DEFENCE
The ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ campaign is speeding up the growth of indigenous defence manufacturing capability in India, writes C SANTHOSH
POST-RAFALE IAF GROWTH CHALLENGES
In order to have its authorized 42 squadrons earliest by 2038, the Indian Air Force requires $110 billion (₹770,000 crore), estimates ANIL CHOPRA. Where is that money? Will this remain a pipe dream?
AUGMENTING THE AIRLIFT CAPABILITY
India is slowly and steadily raising its means to deploy and sustain military forces across possible distant battlefields by air, writes NINAD D SHETH
MSMEs Can Make Or Mar ‘Make In India' Initiative
The fulcrum of the ‘Make in India’ programme is the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) segment and, as of now, the MSMEs are thought of only as an adjunct. But that is slowly changing, explains R Chandrakanth
Defence Against Offence: India Is Building Up Its BMD Systems
The experience gained from the development and operation of the BrahMos Mach-3 supersonic cruise missile by the Indian armed forces will be an added advantage not available to other nations in the region. As a result, India could likely have operational hypersonic weapons capability before the end of the decade, explains C Santhosh
MICROSOFT: CHINA-BASED HACKERS FOUND BUG TO TARGET US FIRMS
China-based government hackers have exploited a bug in Microsoft’s email server software to target U.S. organizations, the company said this week.
TIM COOK'S $2.3 TRILLION FORTRESS
Trade war? Pfft. Trump? Please. Antitrust? Zuck’s problem. (Ditto privacy.) Revenue? Endless
China Spacecraft Enters Mars Orbit, 2nd In 2 Days After Uae
A Chinese spacecraft entered Mars orbit on Wednesday on a mission to land a rover and collect data on underground water and possible signs of ancient life, state media said.
Taking the Travel Out Of Duty Free
Bargain-hunting travelers have long fattened the profits of duty-free shops, but Covid-19 travel restrictions have hammered those perfume suffused emporiums.
Xi Insists
Improving U.S.-China relations will require President Xi to make real compromises. So far, he’s unyielding
CHINESE APP TIKTOK CUTS JOBS IN INDIA FOLLOWING BAN
Popular short-video Chinese app TikTok is cutting its workforce in India after hundreds of millions of its users dropped it to comply with a government ban on dozens of Chinese apps amid a military stand off between the two countries.
Al mercado, de volada
Un fotógrafo narra un modo de vida tradicional ligado a un poderoso río en riesgo por el cambio. Historia y fotografías de Fritz Hoffmann
HELP IS ON THE WAY But the world still needs a shot in the arm!
The economic outlook is starting to brighten just about everywhere you look
China Tightens Its Grip on Fintech
In late 2020, as Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co. prepared for a $35 billion initial public offering, many outside China wondered if the country’s financial technology giants were becoming a global competitive threat to U.S. and European banks and payments companies. Ant’s Alipay app, used for everything from hailing cabs to investing, had already rewired financial services in the world’s second-largest economy. There was just one problem: Inside China, policymakers were growing uneasy about the sudden dominance of their homegrown superstars.
China Comes For Its Tech Giants
The Chinese government’s crackdown on the country’s largest technology companies has raised fears that the industry could be paralyzed or cast into disarray as the economy enters a delicate moment. But one contingent within the tech sector is privately cheering on a broad set of anti-monopoly edicts: startups and their investors.