Tactical RPA (Photo: X)
New Delhi: With an objective to further strengthen the surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities across the plains and high-altitude areas, the defence ministry has begun the process to buy 20 Tactical Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAs) for the Indian Army.
The 20 tactical RPAs along with the required ground support equipment will be procured in line with the Make in India and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiatives.
The RPA should be able to carry weapon package of minimum 200 Kgs on minimum 02 x Hard Points on each wing along with onboard EO/IR payload for target identification and laser designation/ laser illumination as applicable.
The ministry issued a request for information (RFI) on December 24, 2025 to identify suitable platforms and capable Indian vendors, while also finalising the Services Qualitative Requirements (SQRs) and the appropriate procurement category.
As per the RFI, these RPAs will be deployed across diverse operational environments, with an equal number earmarked for operations in the plains and in high-altitude or mountainous regions.
The systems are expected to support round-the-clock missions and remain fully operational in adverse weather conditions, including strong winds, rain and complex terrain.
The tactical RPAs must be capable of operating in winds of up to 60 knots in high-altitude areas and 30 knots in the plains, withstand rainfall of up to 20 mm per hour, and handle gusts of up to 10 knots during take-off and landing.
They should also be able to function within non-thunderous cloud cover, ensuring uninterrupted surveillance in varied climatic conditions.
Designed with a modular and scalable architecture, the platforms will allow future upgrades with minimal modifications.
The RPAs must be capable of simultaneously integrating at least two different payloads, enhancing operational flexibility.
Planned payloads include electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) sensors, communications and electronic intelligence suites (COMINT and ELINT), synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and foliage-penetrating (FOPEN) radar systems.
The RPA systems are required to offer a minimum endurance of eight hours, operate at altitudes exceeding 24,000 feet for high-altitude missions, and provide a line-of-sight range of at least 120 km, extendable up to 400 km through satellite communications.
The ministry has invited responses only from Indian vendors or original equipment manufacturers (OEM), authorized vendors (including Indian company forming joint venture/ establishing production arrangement with OEM).
This RFI has been issued with no financial commitment and “the Ministry of Defence reserves the right to change or vary any part thereof at any stage.”
The Ground Control System must have facility of firewall protected Ethernet and TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)/ IP (Internet Protocol) interface with external system to enable real time video streaming/ data transfer to C2 (Command and Control) Headquarters (3rd Party).
As per the RFI, the vendor should be ready for integration of real time UAS location data through its GCS with SAKSHAM Counter-UAS (C-UAS) Management System of Indian Army.
The RPA system should be capable of using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals from multiple GNSS constellations to include NAVSTAR GPS/ GLONASS (Russian)/ Galileo (EU) & IRNSS (Indian) as main navigation system.
