New Delhi(India), 08/08/23: Due to worries over security flaws, India recently forbade domestic military drone makers from utilising parts made in China, the report was confirmed by four defence and industry officials and papers of the ministry.
A report by Reuters states that the move comes at a time when tensions are rising between the nuclear-armed neighbours and as New Delhi pushes through with military modernisation plans that include increased use of unmanned quadcopters, long-endurance systems, and other autonomous platforms.
However, the defence and industry figures said India’s security leaders were concerned that intelligence-gathering could be compromised by Chinese-made parts in drones’ communication functions, cameras, radio transmission, and operating software. This is because the nascent Indian industry is trying to meet the military’s needs.
According to documents quoted in the article by Reuters, India’s strategy, is being put into effect through military tenders and complements the gradual import limitations on surveillance drones that have been in place since 2020.
Indian military officials informed prospective bidders at two meetings in February and March to discuss drone contracts that equipment or subcomponents from “countries sharing land borders with India will not be acceptable for security reasons.”
In order to counter perceived threats, notably those from China, whose forces have recently engaged Indian soldiers along their disputed border, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has worked to strengthen India’s drone capabilities.
75% of the 1.6 trillion rupees ($19.77 billion) India has planned allocated for military modernisation in 2023–2024 would go to domestic industries.
However, because manufacturers are now forced to find components abroad due to the embargo on Chinese parts, manufacturing military drones locally is now more expensive, according to government and industry analysts.
According to Sameer Joshi, the founder of Bengaluru-based NewSpace Research and Technologies, which provides the Indian military with small drones, 70% of the items in the supply chain are manufactured in China.
As an example, he remarked, “If I talk to a Polish guy, he still has his components coming from China.”
Joshi said that switching to a non-Chinese pipeline resulted in a significant increase in costs, and that some businesses continued to import materials from China while “white-labelling it” to keep costs within a certain range.
India depends on foreign suppliers for both individual components and complete systems since it lacks the expertise to produce some types of drones.
According to Y. Dilip quoted by Reuters, director of the state-run Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a government-funded initiative to create a domestic Medium Altitude Long Endurance unmanned system is at least half a decade behind schedule.
In order to achieve the military’s aim of a drone that can reach an operating altitude of 30,000 feet and remain in the air for 24 hours, the platform, known as Tapas, still requires modification, according to Dilip.
He claimed that the engines were our main source of restriction because neither are those made in India nor the imported versions were up to the task.
