Overview
- The Indian Air Force has issued a limited tender to selected Indian firms and named its 5 Base Repair Depot at Sulur, Coimbatore, as the nodal hub for a pilot co‑development programme that began with a June 12 enquiry.
- Tender documents seek a fixed‑wing one‑way attack drone that can operate to about 16,000 feet, work day and night, carry a modular payload of at least 30 kg, and support autonomous launch, loitering and mission execution.
- The IAF will co‑develop the platform with industry partners and retain intellectual property rights so it can modify, upgrade and scale the design without vendor constraints.
- Specifications require the system and its components to be free of Chinese‑origin technology and call for an indigenised maintenance and supply chain plus training for Air Force personnel.
- The project is a Maintenance Command pilot to build an end‑to‑end design‑to‑production ecosystem at Sulur that could speed field upgrades, reduce foreign dependence and require new testing, certification and sustainment capacity.