Page 16 - Drones

Goa govt's Drone Policy 2022 promotes use of unmanned aerial vehicles

The Drone Policy 2022 launched by the Goa government has suggested that its departments consider the use of the unmanned aerial vehicles for efficient and effective governance. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday launched the Drone Policy 2022, as per which the government will engage with technical institutes and academia to design drone-related courses for use in sectors like agriculture, horticulture, forestry, healthcare, mining and others. The government will help in establishing drone schools that offer various courses in drone operations and pilot certification, the policy said, adding the government will encourage the setting up of centres of excellence within higher academic institutions to promote research and development. The policy mentions that "drones offer tremendous benefits to almost every sector of the economy, including but not limited to agriculture, infrastructure, emergency response, transportation, geospatial mapping, media, entertainment, law enforcement an

BSF thwarts infiltration by Pak drones at Punjab international border

The Border Security Force (BSF) foiled Pakistan's attempt of smuggling drugs and weapons across the border through drones

Drones can play significant role in checking illegal mining: Union Minister

Drone technology can play a significant role to check illegal mining in the country and can also used to save natural resources, Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur said on Tuesday. The Minister for Information and Broadcasting at an event here said the Centre continues to invest in training the youth in drone technology as India is on track to become a global 'drone hub' of the world. "Mining and illegal mining are two different things. To keep a check on the illegal mining, drone technology could be used. Drone technology could be a big thing to save our resources." he said. He was making those comments at the inauguration of first drone skilling and training conference organised by Garuda Aerospace at the Agni College of Technology, Thalambur near here. Thakur recalled that drones were used during the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver medicines and vaccines. Recently, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation allowed the Board of Control for Cricket

Govt issues guidelines for PLI scheme to boost domestic drone industry

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has issued guidelines for the implementation of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to support the indigenous drone industry

Proposed procurement of predator drones from US under process: Navy chief

The case for the proposed procurement of a fleet of Predator drones from the US is under process, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar said on Saturday. The original proposal was to procure 30 MQ-9B Predator armed drones at a cost of over USD 3 billion to crank up India's surveillance apparatus along the frontier with China as well as in the Indian Ocean region. "The case for the procurement is under process. We are discussing whether the numbers have to be rationalised," the Navy Chief said while replying to a question at his annual press conference. The MQ-9B drone is a variant of the MQ-9 "Reaper" which was used to launch a modified version of the Hellfire missile that eliminated al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in the heart of Kabul last month. In 2020, the Indian Navy had taken on lease two MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones from General Atomics for a period of one year for surveillance in the Indian Ocean. The lease period has been extended subsequently. "We have gained good ..

Civil aviation min notifies operational guidelines for drone PLI scheme

The civil aviation ministry has notified the operational guidelines for the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for drones and drone components. The government has approved the PLI scheme with an outlay of Rs 120 crore and the scheme is to be implemented during the 2022-23 to 2024-25 period. In a communication dated November 29, the ministry said the guidelines have been finalised after consultations with stakeholders, including industry representatives. The PLI will be extended only to companies engaged in the manufacturing of drones and drone components in India. The total PLI per manufacturer is capped at Rs 30 crore which is 25 per cent of the total financial outlay of Rs 120 crore. Indian MSMEs and startups manufacturing drones and having annual sales turnover of Rs 2 crore will be eligible for the scheme. In the case of drone component makers, the eligibility threshold will be Rs 0.5 crore. For Indian non-MSMEs that are into making drones, the annual sales turnover ...

BSF procures 2 SUV-mounted jammers, 100 drones, over 1,400 thermal imagers

The BSF has procured two SUV-mounted jammers, more than 1,400 hand-held thermal imagers and about 100 drones for surveillance and security activities along important Indian frontiers with Pakistan and Bangladesh, a senior officer said Wednesday. The Border Security Force (BSF) has also identified a total of 635 "vulnerable patches" all along the 2,289-km-long international border with Pakistan and along West Bengal and Assam (as part of the India-Bangladesh border) for installing surveillance systems developed in-house by the force. The force has procured two vehicle-mounted jammers, onboard Mahindra Scorpio vehicles, for protecting troops against remotely triggered IEDs during their movement in Jammu and Kashmir (from Jammu to Srinagar in convoys), the officer said. A CRPF bus carrying 39 personnel, apart from one official on road opening duty, were killed when a terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle in their convoy on February 14, 2019 while they were moving on the ...

BSF shoots down drone along India-Pakistan border in Amritsar village

The Border Security Force has shot down a drone that sneaked into the Indian side from Pakistan in Punjab's Amritsar district, officials said on Tuesday. The BSF personnel fired at the drone on Monday night after they noticed it entering the Indian territory near Chaharpur village, around 40 km north of Amritsar city, they said. During the search operation, the BSF recovered a partially-damaged hexacopter, an unmanned aerial vehicle with six rotors. A suspected item in a white-colour polythene was also attached underneath it, according to the officials. The drone is suspected to be carrying a drugs payload and its contents are being ascertained, an officer said. "Alert troops of BSF once again were able to capture a drone and foil smuggling attempt," a spokesperson for the force said. On November 25, the BSF troops had also shot down a Pakistani drone near the international border in Amritsar.

Pak army using Chinese drones to crush rebellion in Balochistan: Report

According to reports, the Pakistani Army deployed jets against Baloch nationalists in the highlands of Bolan in Balochistan.

Drone hits Israeli-linked tanker; Iran frees 2 Greek tankers

An oil tanker associated with an Israeli billionaire has been struck by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman amid heightened tensions with Iran, officials said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Greece said Iran freed two Greek oil tankers held by Tehran since May. The drone attack on the Liberian-flagged oil tanker Pacific Zircon happened on Tuesday night off the coast of Oman, one Mideast-based defence official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorised to discuss the attack publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The Pacific Zircon is operated by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, which is a company ultimately owned by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer. In a statement, Eastern Pacific Shipping said the Pacific Zircon, carrying gas oil, had been hit by a projectile some 150 miles (240 kilometres) off the coast of Oman. We are in communication with the vessel and there is no reports of injuries or pollution. All crew are safe and accounted for, the company

Amazon unveils new Prime Air delivery drone, to enter service in 2024

The new drone will undergo rigorous evaluation by national aerospace authorities like the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to prove its safety and reliability

Artificial intelligence, drones to fight pollution; CAQM okays 7 projects

The Centre's air quality panel on Thursday said it has approved seven projects which involve the use of drones for real-time air quality monitoring and artificial intelligence for counting of vehicles. Other projects include installation of air purification systems in a market place in Delhi and retrofitting air cleaners in buses. The projects are under supervision of different technical and academic institutes like the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said in a statement. CAQM has decided to tap the technical/academic expertise of the reputed scientific institutions working in the field of air pollution for a joint and augmented approach towards prevention, control and abatement of the menace of air pollution in Delhi-NCR, it said. The approved projects will focus on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tool for counting of vehicles, addressing vehicular

Centre grants permission to Kempegowda airport in B'luru on drones' usage

Earlier, on October 31, the airport authority had sought permission for use of drones for the said purposes

Iranian minister acknowledges supplying drones to Russia for first time

Iran's foreign minister on Saturday acknowledged for the first time that his country has supplied Russia with drones, insisting the transfer came before Moscow's war on Ukraine that has seen the Iranian-made drones divebombing Kyiv. The comments by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian come after months of confusing messaging from Iran about the weapons shipment, as Russia sends the drones slamming into Ukrainian energy infrastructure and civilian targets. We gave a limited number of drones to Russia months before the Ukraine war, Amirabdollahian told reporters after a meeting in Tehran. Previously, Iranian officials had denied arming Russia in its war on Ukraine. Just earlier this week, Iran's Ambassador to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani called the allegations totally unfounded" and reiterated Iran's position of neutrality in the war. The US and its Western allies on the Security Council have called on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to investigate if Russia has used Irani

Bees and drones give wings to farmers

Areas where drones are making their presence felt include seed propagation, pesticide spraying, yield prediction, land records, insurance assessment, and crop monitoring

Iran violating UN Security Council ban on drone transfers, says Ukraine

Ukraine has accused Iran of violating a UN Security Council ban on the transfer of drones capable of flying 300 kilometers and invited UN experts to visit the country to inspect Iranian-origin drones being used by Russia against civilian targets. A letter from Ukraine's UN Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and members of the UN Security Council was obtained by The Associated Press ahead of a closed council meeting late Wednesday requested by Britain, France and the United States on Iran's sale of hundreds of drones to Russia. US Deputy State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters in Washington on Wednesday that the United States will join Britain and France in raising the issue at the council meeting. Kyslytsya tweeted on Wednesday that the issue of Iranian drones used against civilians and civilian infrastructure will also be raised at an open council meeting on Ukraine on Friday. Russia is believed to have sent waves of Iranian-made Shahe

Extensive proof Russia using Iranian drones in Ukraine: US State Department

A US State Department spokesman has claimed there's enough proof that Russia is using Iranian drones against both military and civilian targets in Ukraine

Ukraine War: What are Kamikaze drones deployed by the Russian military?

As Russia has unleashed a wave of Kamikaze drones on Ukraine for the second time, let's understand what is this weapon and how does it work

MS Dhoni launches made-in-India 'Droni' camera drone for farming solutions

Indian cricket star Mahendra Singh Dhoni has launched the made-in-India camera drone named 'Droni' with advanced features manufactured by Garuda Aerospace

Asteria Aerospace gets DGCA's micro category drone certification

Asteria Aerospace Limited on Thursday announced that it has received India's first micro category drone type certification for its indigenously designed A200 drone from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The A200 drone was found to be fully compliant with the Certification Scheme for Unmanned Aircraft Systems notified in January 2022, the full stack drone technology company said in a statement. "Asteria's A200 drone has been developed for surveying and mapping applications in GIS, agriculture, construction, mining and other industries," it said. The A200 drone is a rugged, reliable, and performance-driven multirotor drone that weighs less than two kg and has advanced features including automated take-off and landing, multiple fail-safes, single pilot operation, tool-less assembly and disassembly, and a flight time of up to 40 minutes, according to the statement. The DGCA categorises drones based on their weight. Drones with an all-up-weight of 250 gm to two kg fall .