Army Issues Tenders To Procure Iron Man-Style Jet Pack Suits, New-Age Drones, Robotic Mules: Report

The Indian Army is going hi-tech as it bolsters its overall surveillance apparatus along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.

Army personnel patrol in the snow-covered area of Chatroo ahead of Republic Day in J&K

Source : PTI

Amid twin threats along India's borders from China and Pakistan, the Indian Army is going hi-tech and has issued tenders to buy 130 new-age drone systems and 48 Iron Man-style jet pack suits, PTI reported. The Army has also issued tenders to buy 100 robotic mules to carry loads as it aims to bolster its overall surveillance and combat capabilities along sensitive border areas.

The acquisitions will be done under emergency procurement through the fast track procedure (FTP) under the 'buy Indian' category.

"The tenders for buying 100 robotic mules and 48 jet pack suits have been issued separately. The procurement would be done under emergency provisions and fast-track procedures. The products have to be built and supplied to the forces under Make in India provisions," ANI qupted Army officials as saying.

The drone system will consist of drones connected to a ground-based tether station and can provide surveillance of beyond the line of sight targets for prolonged periods, PTI reported.

The drones can also be launched in untethered mode for a certain duration to obtain additional information or confirm intelligence inputs.

"Each drone system will consist of two aerial vehicles with combined payloads, one man portable ground control station, one tether station and one remote video terminal among others," the officials told PTI.

The last date of submission of the bid is February 14.

The jet pack suit is a device that propels the wearer through the air using gas or liquid turbine jet engines. The suit will enable troops to hover at speeds of more than 50 km per hour and carry out their tasks.

The Army has specified that the suit must provide controls for the safe ascent, safe descent, take-off and landing and movement in all directions, ANI reported.

The Army has also started the process to procure 100 'robotic mule' along with associated accessories. The last date of submission of the bid is February 6.

The robotic mules are supposed to work at heights up to 10,000 feet altitude. They are required to be quadripedal robots (with four-legged) capable of autonomous movement across various terrain, self-recovery capability and with obstruction avoidance features, the tender stated.

The acquisitions come at a time when India has been ramping up its overall surveillance apparatus along the nearly 3,500-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China following the eastern Ladakh border row that began in May 2020.

(With inputs from agencies)