Army seeks loiter munitions for its mechanised forces along western, northern borders

Vijay Mohan

Chandigarh, April 10

To keep pace with emerging battlefield requirements, the Indian Army is seeking additional indigenously developed smart loiter munitions that can be employed with its mechanised formations to neutralize enemy armoured elements.

The Army has projected a requirement of 150 such weapons, termed Canister Launched Anti-Armour Loiter Munitions (CALM) Systems, which will be integrated on the Carrier Mortar Tracked (CMT), a modified version of the BMP 2/3 infantry combat vehicle that is already in service.

According to a request for information (RFI) floated by the Army on April 8, CALM is envisioned to be deployed in the plains and deserts along the western borders, as well as in high altitude areas up to 16,500 feet along the northern frontier.

Loiter munitions are a mix of a surface-to-surface missile and a drone. While a missile, once fired heads straight to its target after a flight of usually a few minutes, loiter munitions, which also carry warheads and onboard surveillance equipment, are launched in a manner similar to a drone and they stay aloft for a longer time, surveying a designated area and seeking targets. Once a target is identified and locked on, they act as a missile to destroy it. If a mission is aborted or there are no suitable targets, loiter munitions can be recovered. Loiter munitions, however, are smaller, cheaper and less complex systems than combat or armed drones.

The army wants a tube or canister launched system with a capability to observe, identifyand engage non line-of-sight targets such as enemy armoured vehicles, other ground based weapon platforms and troop positions up to a range of 15 kms and a flight endurance of at least 60 minutes during day or night.

The Army has, in the recent past, initiated steps to procure varying types and quantities of loiter munitions by roping in the private industry. Some firms have already demonstrated prototypes of loiter munitions designed by them.

The Air Force too has reportedly procured loiter munitions from Israel to meet its own requirements. The Armed Forces are laying great stress on the development and procurement of indigenous unmanned systems such as swarm drones and combat unmanned aerial vehicles as well as systems to counter hostile drones.