India is going to further strengthen its surveillance system to keep an eye on the borders with China and Pakistan. The Indian Defense Force is set to acquire 97 'Made-in-India' drones for surveillance along the borders of China and Pakistan. Government sources gave this information on Monday.

After the decision to buy 31 Predator drones from the US, India is now moving towards buying 97 highly capable drones under the 'Make-in-India' project. Government sources said that a scientific study was done jointly by the defense forces and it has been decided that 97 such drones will be procured for the Indian forces to meet medium altitude long endurance requirements and keep surveillance on both land and sea. will be required.

According to government sources, the Indian Air Force will be procuring these drones at a cost of over Rs 10,000 crore, as they are also getting the largest number of unmanned aerial vehicles that will be able to fly continuously for 30 hours.

The drones to be acquired by the forces will be in addition to the existing fleet of over 46 Heron UAVs inducted by the three forces in their respective fleets over the past few years. The drones that are already in service are being upgraded by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in partnership with original equipment manufacturers through 'Make-in-India', where they use over 60 percent Indian content. By doing this, we have to upgrade our capabilities within the country.

India has recently decided to acquire 31 Predator drones which are of high altitude and long endurance range and will be used for surveillance of vast areas of Indian interest.