Part II – Technology Capabilities of Countries
China
As on date, China is a leader in drone technology development and has a large fleet of UAVs/UACVs/Swarm Drones. Drones are an important part of China’s informatised warfare concept - evolution from Motorization to Mechanization and from Digitization to Informatisation and Intelligentisation. The infusion of the next most important technology ‘Quantum’ will make its UAVs stealthier, more disruptive with stronger algorithms, precise with secured communication and fastest processing speeds.
China is the leader with a vast range of state-of-the-art military drones to include: FH-97 high-speed stealth drones; FH-97A; FH- 901; FH-901 patrol swarm system; GJ-2; GJ-11 Sharp Sword stealth; WZ-7 high-altitude reconnaissance drone for mission that require extended endurance like border reconnaissance and maritime patrols; FH-95 electronic warfare drone; CH-4,5,6,7, 817 series; Wing Loong (WL) series - 1E,2,3,10,10A,10B; the FH series; and KVD002.
FH-97A is a stealthy UCAV, “all-day, all-weather”, controlled from the cockpit of a manned fighter, AI piloted loyal wingman drone to fly along the J-20 fighter, carrying up to 8 air-to-air missiles or loitering munitions, use rocket boosters to takeoff without a runway, fly ahead to provide early warning, suppress air defenses with electronic countermeasures, and absorb damage from attacks, as well as evaluating damage and conducting reconnaissance.
Next, China’s GJ-11 Sharp Sword primary mission is to conduct deep penetrating strikes on critical targets. Each bay has four ammunitions and is likely to carry multiple types of precision ammunition. The Sky Hawk drone, used as loyal wingman to J-20, a high-altitude, long-range, high-speed, ‘intelligent’ drone, long-endurance stealth UAV with penetration reconnaissance potential, is capable of taking off, flying, and landing entirely on its own in fully autonomous mode; capable of undertaking reconnaissance and patrol missions in hostile environments.
China’s stealthy CH-7 UCAV, maximum takeoff weight of 10 tons, a service ceiling of 15 kilometers to fly higher and stay longer in the mission zone, be more focused on round-the-clock reconnaissance and monitoring in highly dangerous environments, and be able to keep detecting hostile targets for a longer time. It can also carry large missiles or guide other weapons to strike high-value enemy targets.
China’s best selling drone, the Caihong 4, is nearly identical to the US-made MQ-9 Reaper. The CH-4 has completed more than 4,000 missions in 20,000 hours, firing more than 800 munitions with an accuracy of 99 percent. Even the WL-series drones are similar to US Predator and MQ-9 Reaper Drones. The CH-817, weighing 800 grams, is mini attack drone, which can be carried and used by individual soldiers, or released from other CH series drones that can conduct both reconnaissance and attack missions. As per SIPRI, China has delivered around 282 combat drones to 17 countries in the past decade.
China has successfully engineered a new type of ornithopter, an aircraft that achieves flight through flapping wings, with immense potential for military applications.These include the ability to fold its wings while flapping, adjust flapping speed, fold one wing independently, and lock its wings for gliding maneuvers, providing unmatched agility and realism in flight.
Most important is to understand the employment of UAVs and UCAVs in the Western Theatre Command opposite India’s border with China. The organization structure and their authorization has been clearly defined from Battalion to Theatre Command level. They are authorized handheld Quadcopters at battalion/scouts level to UAVs at Combat Arms Brigade level and Combined Arms Divisions and the Group Armies level. At the Group Armies level, Artillery Brigades’ Reconnaissance Units have UAVs with longer endurance range up to 300 km to support long range MLRS like PHL191 with near real time provision of targeting information. The four PLAGF Aviation Brigades in WTC generally have CH4 UAVs which are in key heliports or alongside the PLAAF Airfields in Tibet and Xinjiang mainly and three ISR Brigades.
Pakistan
Pakistan’s UCAV drone program can be traced back to 2009, when it created its first indigenous drone, the Burraq in secrecy. Burraq is designed to carry a 50 kg payload, a range of 1000 km and its maximum speed is 215 km/h with 24,606 ft service ceiling. It carries two ‘Barq’ air-to-surface laser guided missiles capable of destroying stationery, as well as, moving targets. Pakistan is also producing 48 Chinese WL-II MALE UCAVs that has a range of 400 km, an endurance of 20 hours, a service ceiling of 16,004 ft and can carry a payload of 480 kg (1060 Ibs) of air-to-surface weapons – PGMS in terms of guided bombs (FT 7- 130 kg bomb with planner wing, FT 9 - 50 kg bomb, FT 10 - 25 kg bomb, GB 7 - bomb based on radio command mode of guidance, GB 10 - a flare seeker bomb based on infrared mode of guidance) or cluster bombs or 12 laser guided ASMs or anti-ship missiles and guided rockets. Shahpar-II is yet another UCAV in its arsenal.
Turkey has delivered the first six to seven Akinci-A (HALE) drones to Pakistan in April 2023. Pakistan is likely to buy more such platforms, particularly more advanced Akinci-B. However, it is not clear if Pakistan has expressed interest in the IHA-230 missile. With the Akinci-A, the PAF currently maintains a decisive advantage in fulfilling its long-range reconnaissance and surveillance objectives within the region, particularly between India and Pakistan.
Turkey
Turkey has supplied operationally successful Bayraktar TB2 – Akinci-A to Azerbaijan, Libya and others. Turkey has also developed the powerful Akinci-B UCAV, which is expected to be equipped with a plethora of state-of-art weapons including Bozdoğan and Gökdoğan missiles. The Akinci series are Turkey’s main UAV for intelligence-surveillance-
The Akinci-A reportedly can fire Turkish-built Roketsan SOM missiles that can hit targets up to 240 km. Also, it has test-fired IHA-230 (an air-to-ground/air-to-surface missile (AGM/ASM), the first in the country that can fly at “supersonic” speeds capable of hitting targets at a distance of 140 km. It is designed to counter targets like tactical battlefield command centers, bunkers, logistics nodes, and light armored vehicles. Another key feature of the Akinci-B UAV is its indigenously developed radars: AESA radar, SAR/GMTI radar, a wide-area surveillance system, an EWS (electronic warfare) system, an electronic and signal intelligence suite, and beyond-line-of-sight satellite communications systems. The IHA-230 is guided precisely to the target thanks to its GNSS-supported inertial guidance capability, which provides a countermeasure against jamming systems. The system functions with a fire-and-forget capability.
Iran
Iran has developed a variety of drones. Of all the drones in use, the most important ones are new Kaman 22 (UAV), which seems to be modeled on the U.S.-made MQ-1 Predator and with other features from the more advanced MQ-9 Reaper and the Shahed-136, 'Fire and forget' drone, used by the Russians successfully in destroying Ukrainian electrical grids and SAM systems.
USA
By contrast, the US Drones arsenal includes: XQ-67A; XQ-58A Valkyrie; MQ-1 Predator; MQ-9 Reaper; MQ-20 Avenger; MQ-1 Gray Eagle; X-45A; RQ-4 Global Hawk; MQ-8 C Fire Scout; MQ-9B ‘Sky Guardian’; MQM-178; CQ-10 Snow Goose; RQ-11 Raven; the RQ-14 Dragon Eye; Honeywell RQ-16 T-Hawk; RQ-21 Blackjack; RQ-170; and RQ-180; MAVinci "SIRIUS UAS"; Lockheed Martin Desert Hawk; Sea Hunter; Sea Hawk; Swallow; Sentinel; fully automatic micro civil UAVs LA100, LA200 and LA300 and Lehmann Aviation LP960; LP960; LV580; LM450; IAI Malat "BirdEye"s and "Mosquito"; etc. According to a report by the Department of Defense, as of 2020, the US military has over 22,000 drones in its inventory. The Air Force has largely interspersed its MQ-1, MQ-9, and RQ-4 squadrons among wings and Numbered Air Forces that also house crewed aircraft squadrons.
The latest technology development of Generation 2 USAFs Drone is XQ-67A autonomous collaborative platforms (ACP) based on the concept of Low Cost-Attritable Aircraft Technologies (LCAAT) and Low Cost-Attritible Aircraft Platform Sharing (LCAAPS) with Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS) uncrewed air vehicle is to augment, but not, replace aircraft. XQ-67A is an advanced air combat drone, remotely piloted, stealthy, high performance drone equipped with a variety of sensors, including radar, electro-optical/infrared (EQ/IR) and signals intelligence (SIGINT) systems that is designed for long-range, high-altitude missions.
The Kratos’s XQ-58A Valkyrie, range of just less than 2,500 miles, is a “Wingman” drone that can carry a small payload of smart bombs, which has flown with F-35s. A Wingman drone, for instance, could blanket an area with ISR, test and overwhelm enemy air defenses, jam enemy communications, and even launch an offensive strike when directed by a human, while manned fighter jets operate at a safer stand-off distance performing command and control.
The MQ-9B can take off from a small runway as short as 4,000 feet using an Automatic Takeoff and Landing Capability (ATLC). It requires essential personnel for support. MQ-9B can provide roughly 80 percent of the capability of a large human-flown maritime patrol aircraft at about 20 percent of its cost per hour. ‘Sky Guardian’ UCAV variant of the MQ-9B, 40 hours of endurance, armed with AGM-114R Hellfire air-surface missiles used for precision drone strikes against high-value targets, operate at low and high altitudes (500 to 40,000 feet) can undertake a myriad of missions from stand-off ranges, to act as communication nodes and relay centers connecting sensors and shooters in the battle space and to strike.
The RQ-4 Global Hawk is described as a high-altitude, remotely piloted surveillance aircraft. The drone features synthetic aperture radar and has a respectable loitering time of more than 30 hours. The USAF wants to deploy 1000 CCAs – drones loaded with autonomous software that would fly into battle alongside crewed fighters in 2025.
Russia
Russia has also in its arsenal has many types of drones: T-4 Iskatel (Searcher) — high-tech reconnaissance portable UAV; Yakovlev Voron "Raven" — UCAV for long range, high speed strike capability; Orion reconnaissance/strike UAV; Orlan-10E and Orlan-30 reconnaissance drones, as well as the Kub-E loitering munition. PSATRI UAV, Russia HW150V hybrid vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone. The ISR platform has a range of 300 kilometers, maximum takeoff weight of 160 kilograms, endurance of 10 hours and cruise speed up to 150km per hour, according to company literature. Russia reportedly spent US$1.75 billion (RM7.8 billion) to produce approximately 6,000 Iranian-made “Shahed-136” suicide drones in its local facility.
Israel
Israel, a major drone exporter, with loitering munitions like the HAROP or HARPER, HERON (MALE - Medium Altitude Long Endurance UAV) with a range of up to 200 km, and the SKYSTRIKER and ORBITER 1K. They have developed a Kamikaze or suicide UAV that loiters over the battlefield, its remote operator searching for targets. Once found, the drone is flown into the target, destroying both itself and the target. Elbit Systems – HERMES 650 SPARK – front-mounted engine offering 120 hp, agility to reach op areas quickly and then transition to a fuel-efficient speed of 55 knots, 200 meters take-off and 800 meters for landing; take-off weight of 650 kg and payload capacity of 260kgs; two under-fuselage and two underwing hardpoints.
In sum, China and Pakistan, key adversaries of India besides Iran and Turkey are technology wise way ahead of India.
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