Posted on 04/12/2010 8:48:59 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
India is seeking to acquire Israeli killer drones for use against insurgents but possibly against terrorist groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan as well.
The proposition gained momentum after the November 2008 carnage in Mumbai, India's financial capital, when Pakistani infiltrators killed 166 people in three days of bloodshed.
Now New Delhi wants to muster at least 25-30 of the armed unmanned aerial vehicles from Israel, one of its key arms suppliers and a global leader in unmanned aerial vehicle technology.
Asia Times Online reported that official sources in New Delhi say that India, which is the midst of a massive military modernization program, should have a new fleet of killer drones within two years.
At present, it has five armed unmanned combat aerial vehicles.
But military commanders engaged in combating several internal insurgencies, including an Islamist one in disputed Kashmir and a Maoist one across central India, are convinced they must emulate U.S. drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan against the Taliban and al-Qaida.
These attacks, using MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper UAVs armed with Hellfire AGM-114 air-to-ground missiles, have decimated Taliban and jihadist leadership cadres in recent months.
Israel's air force has used killer drones to eliminate senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants in the Gaza Strip in recent years.
(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...
How do the Israeli platforms square against the American ones?
I believe they’ve received tenders from both parties.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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Yeehaw! We’re become pals with the Indians instead of the cowboys.
Competition is good for the consumer.
No doubt.
The recently-launched Phalcon AWACS is a very potent platform.
;~)
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