1. home
  2. Blogs
  3. Prelims Special Facts

Indian Army to acquire unmanned aerial vehicle Raven and Spike Firefly "EMPOWER IAS"

Indian Army to acquire unmanned aerial vehicle Raven and Spike Firefly "EMPOWER IAS"

News:

  • Indian Army to acquire unmanned aerial vehicle Raven and Spike Firefly

 

Highlights:

  • The Indian army is all set to acquire hand-launched, remote-controlled unmanned vehicle Raven from the United States and the state-of-the-art Israeli Spike Firefly ‘loitering’ ammunition.
  • The weaponry will add lethality to its ground infantry apart from the long-range artillery shells with a range of over 40 kilometers. The Indian Navy is also set to commission its second ballistic missile-firing nuclear submarine, INS Arighat, in 2020,
  • The first batch of acquisition comprises 4-6 jets are likely to touch down in India on 27 July.
  • Indian Army is set to acquire 200 pieces of RQ-11 UAV. RQ-11 UAV can fly up to 10 kilometers at an altitude of 500 feet and speed up to 95 km per hour. It will help infantry troops conduct reconnaissance of the battle theatre ahead and placement of enemy troops.
  • The Spike Firefly can deliver a precision strike on enemy troops hiding within a range of 1 kilometre. It has the ability to locate a target and will be called back if the target has moved beyond ranger. It is developed under a joint venture (JV) of Israeli company- Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel’s Ministry of Defence.