Global Conflict's video: Indian Drone Artillery Western Media

Indian Drone और Artillery से Western Media परेशान India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL) has carried out a series of flight tests on a subscale model of its high-altitude pseudo satellite (HAPS) platform. The tests were conducted at the Defence Research and Development Organisation's (DRDO's) Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) at Challakere, Karnataka, from 23 January to 2 February. During the tests, the subscale model, which has a wingspan of 12 m and a maximum take-off weight of 22 kg, conducted about 22 sorties and accumulated close to 37 flight hours. Speaking to Janes, L Venkatakrishnan, NAL's chief scientist and high-altitude platform programme director, said, “The aircraft met or exceeded all the performance metrics set out for it including a flight endurance of more than 8 hours 30 minutes, reaching an altitude of almost 3 km above mean sea level.” Venkatakrishnan added that metrics including climb rate, maximum bank angle, turn radius, and one engine inoperative were also assessed in the flight tests. In undertaking the tests, NAL has achieved a deliverable under its HAPS project to “demonstrate a Reynolds number [which indicates the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces] equivalent flight at an altitude of 3 km”, Venkatakrishnan said. The tested HAPS model was equipped with the payloads and flight systems required on a full-scale platform. It was also fitted with a pair of cameras (forward looking and on the tail) to observe in-flight performance. Fitted with high-performance solar photovoltaic cells, a battery system – and a payload of 1 kg – the subscale model can reach a 24-hour endurance flight, making it useful for low-altitude missions, Venkatakrishnan said. India's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, has approved the procurement of the towed gun system (TGS) for the Indian Army. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement on 9 February that the procurement – approved through the provision of an ‘Acceptance of Necessity' (AoN) status under the ‘Buy (Indian)' category – includes 155 mm/52 calibre TGS. The MoD added that the system should have a maximum weight of 15 tonnes. The maximum firing range of the system should be more than 40 km, and the gun must fire all in-service 155 mm ammunition. In a request for information (RFI) document issued by the Indian Army in December 2022 supporting its acquisition of 155 mm/52 calibre TGS, the service said the systems will be used at India's northern and western borders. The RFI added that the guns must be equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS), an inertial navigation-based sight system with the capability to orient and fix the location of the system, and a fire-control system (FCS) with the capability to provide an optical sight for indirect firing day and night. The procurement of the TGS is part of the Indian Army's Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan, which was unveiled in the 1990s to improve the firepower of the service. The service seeks to procure 1,580 155 mm/52 calibre TGS, 814 mounted gun systems, 100 self-propelled howitzers (SPHs), and 145 lightweight howitzers as part of the plan.