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Agra conference assessing futuristic UAVs

Sandeep Dikshit

NEW DELHI: Attempts to initiate India-United States collaboration in defence technologies moved a step closer with the opening of a five-day assessment of futuristic unmanned aerial vehicles in Agra on Tuesday. The significant aspect is the participation by Pentagon’s elite Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Indian defence scientists have frequently spoken about collaborating with the DARPA. On several high level bilateral forums, they have urged greater collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as a test for conducting further collaboration with the U.S. . Top DRDO scientist Prahlada recently reinforced this view. Speaking at a seminar, he said the DRDO was moving towards the DARPA model.

Also participating in the event are the National Aerospace Laboratories and the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment besides the international R&D offices of the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have become important in the military field. The conference is showcasing the next-generation micro air vehicles (MAV) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) that are almost ready for end-use.

The U.S. military R&D institutions are offering a collaboration that would promote current developmental efforts in India in the area of MAVs and UGVs. At present, support for “military operations in urban terrain” (as in Iraq) and force protection is being given by a larger class of UAVs. The systems also have relevance for disaster management, urban traffic monitoring and search and rescue operations.

Twelve international teams from the academia, government and industry (two from the U.S., one each from Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Japan, and Australia and four from India) will conduct briefings, display technology and demonstrate capability during the event.

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