Air Force to Get Rs 10,000 Cr I-STAR Spy Planes with Indigenous DRDO Technology

New Delhi: The Defence Ministry is taking up a Rs 10,000 crore proposal to purchase three sophisticated spy surveillance planes for the Indian Air Force.

This Rs 10,000 crore project for the Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (I-STAR) is being developed by DRDO.

The aircraft are being acquired through an open tender for foreign manufacturers, including Boeing and Bombardier.

The onboard systems in these aircraft are completely indigenous. These are developed by DRDO’s Centre for Airborne Systems.

The I-STAR provides air-to-ground surveillance to the forces to help them in carrying out precision strikes. These could be against any enemy ground targets like radar stations, air defence units and other mobile objects.

I-STAR provides dynamic and time-sensitive targeting capability. It also limits the scale and complexity of undetected hostile threats.

As it has multispectral surveillance capability to detect, locate and monitor irregular forces, I-STAR will carry out intelligence gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting by day and night from stand-off ranges.

I-STAR will be a system comprising airborne and ground segments. It puts India in the select club of nations with such capabilities, including the US, UK, Israel and a few others.

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