IAF inducts new Heron Mark 2 drones that can keep eye on China, Pakistan in one go

Indian Air Force on Sunday inducted the latest Heron Mark 2 drones, which have, according to an ANI report, capability to carry out surveillance along the borders of China and Pakistan in a single sortie.

These four new drones are a massive boost for the Indian Air Force with their capability to be air-borne for 36 hours straight making it useful to carry out multiple surveillance missions in multiple sectors in one go.

These long endurance drones have an added capability to laser illuminate enemy targets from a long distance, helping fighter aircrafts to get rid of such targets.

The commanding officer of the drone squadron, Wing Commander Pankaj Rana told ANI: “The Heron Mark 2 is a very capable drone. This is capable of longer endurance and has ‘beyond line of sight’ capability. With this, the entire country can be surveilled from the same place.”

Rana also said that the drone can provide 24 * 7 surveillance of enemy targets.

"Flying from here, the drone can cover both the adversaries in the same sortie itself,” Rana said.

These drones will be deployed in the forward air base in the northern sector. Sources told ANI that the drone is capable of carrying weapons and the process of weaponsing these drones is under way.

Squadron Leader Arpit Tandon, who is a pilot of the Heron Mark 2 drone, also highlighted the capabilities of these drones, saying that these drones can work in any kind of terrain.

“The payloads and the onboard avionics of the Heron Mark 2 can operate at sub-zero temperatures and in any weather condition. This is helping the Indian Air Force achieve footprints over any type of terrain,” he said.

The Heron Mark 2 is an upgrade over the previous versions of these drones which were with the Indian Air Force from the early 2000s.