Drones and loitering munitions have forced a rethink on armed forces globally on how conflicts of the future will be fought. An ever increasing number of platforms are now being adapted to deploy this platform. The Indian Air Force (IAF) recently released a Request For Proposal (RFP) for drones that can be deployed by helicopters. The air force has issued a Request For Information (RFI) for loitering munitions that can be deployed by transport aircraft.The deployment of drones and loitering munitions through a wide variety of aircraft provides a host of new offensive capabilities for the India Air Force, the move also expands the employment envelope of these aircraft. Such deployments could in practice free up the fighter fleet of the IAF for other tasks, this could be beneficial as the organisation is suffering from a shortfall of fighter aircraft.These air deployable drones can be used for a host of tasks ranging from hitting targets to electronic warfare, acting as decoys to searching for targets. The IAF’s requirement for drones that can be deployed by transport aircraft to have a range of 500 km. These drones are expected to carry a 30 kg warhead and should fly at speeds of up to 350-400 km/h. The systems deployed by helicopters are expected to have a range of 80 km and are expected to have at least a 500 gram warhead.The United States too is working on a similar program called air launched effects. This system too envisions a networked swarm of different types of systems that will be able to overwhelm an enemy through the use of these autonomous vehicles working in conjunction. A new video shows how this system can be deployed from a helicopter. The US Air Force is also working on a similar program called ‘Gremlins’. China, Russia and the United Kingdom too are working on similar programs.A networked drone swarm that can be launched from a distance can take out enemy defences or punch a hole in the adversary’s defences without risking friendly assets. The adversary on the other hand would have to defend itself against voluminous low-cost systems as well as high-cost elements.
