NEW DELHI: The Indian Army on Monday finalised a contract to introduce domestically developed Remotely Piloted Aerial Vehicles (RPAV) as part of a push to introduce indigenous systems and equipment.

This follows the Army’s recent introduction of a highly sophisticated radar system created expressly for sea navigation, as well as an artificial intelligence-based accident prevention gadget.

According to sources, the Indian Army and Z Motions Pvt Ltd have reached an agreement for the purchase of eight locally developed RPAVs through the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) channel run by the defence ministry. The 5 crore rupee contract calls for the supply of RPAVs by this year, and all of them will be delivered within a year.

According to sources in the defence establishment, the Indian Army is buying these RPAVs for both the Indian Air Force and itself. For field use, they will receive an equivalent number of drones. It has been intended to purchase the RPAVs in quantity following testing, according to sources.

The modern airborne platform would improve observation, targeting, and tracking capabilities as well as enable precision targeting of enemy positions, the Indian Army stated in a tweet.

These RPAVs are being developed as loitering munitions that will fundamentally alter how operations are conducted. They will give light infantry, small teams of forces, and special operations units comprehensive observation, targeting, and tracking capacity to carry out precision targeting at standoff ranges.

The Navy secured a contract with Siliconia Technologies in May as part of another effort to increase domestic equipment under the iDEX initiative.

Siliconia won the contract for its prototype Challenge, which called for the creation of a lightweight ASIC-based communication system prototype that could be used for geostationary satellite communication as well as communication in low-earth orbit and medium-earth orbit.