India signs up to procure more Heron MK-II drones after Operation Sindoor, to be incorporated into Navy

Tel Aviv: India has signed up to procure additional satellite-linked Heron MK II drones under emergency provisions, aiming to significantly enhance its defence capabilities following their effective use during Operation Sindoor, according to an Israeli defence industry source.

The Heron MK II Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), already in service with the Indian Army and Air Force, will now be incorporated into the Indian Navy, said the source working with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

In September, the defence ministry issued the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the acquisition of 87 MALE drones, with a focus on an indigenous “Make in India” programme that allows foreign collaboration.

"For us, India is a major customer," the unnamed IAI official said. "Our partnership spans over three decades and generations of systems." After Operation Sindoor, all three branches of the Indian Armed Forces have selected the Heron MK II for emergency procurement, the official stated, but did not disclose the numbers.

"We are very proud that all three branches decided to purchase and operate the Heron Mark II," he said.  The Heron MK II is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance or MALE UAV capable of reaching an altitude of 35,000 feet and remaining in the air for 45 consecutive hours. It is operated by the Israeli Air Force and over 20 other entities globally.

Regarding the 'Make in India' initiative, the IAI official said, “We are fully aware of 'Make in India' and are collaborating closely with our local partners to meet those requirements.” He added that one of these partners is HAL, while another is Elcom.

The IAI intends not only to supply these advanced systems but also to manufacture them in India.

"What we want to do is to manufacture the systems in India. So it will be an Indian version of the Heron," he said. This ambitious vision includes a significant push for technology transfer and an aim for upwards of 60 per cent indigenous Indian manufacturing content.

"One of the main lessons of the 1973 war was that our intelligence was purely on a second-hand basis," he said, adding that the urgent need for continuous, real-time aerial intelligence led to the creation of the Scout—the world’s first-ever operational UAV in the late 1970s.

The UAVs have now evolved from simple surveillance tools to the "Queen of the battlefield," operating thousands of kilometres away, providing multi-sensor capabilities, and even playing a major role against enemy air defences, the official said.