Indian Army does not want Raven
According to the Times of India the Raven RQ-11 does not meet the technical parameters or GSQRs (general staff qualitative requirements) laid down by the Army for the hand-launched spy drones to equip all its 382 infantry battalions, as also counter-insurgency force Rashtriya Rifles and mechanised units.
“The Army wants futuristic mini-drones, not the current-generation Raven being offered as the `Cheel’ drone to the force. It can give good imagery with clarity only from an altitude of 150-metre above ground level,” said a source.
The Ravens were slated to have been made in India, part of a move to create better ties between the Asian tiger and the USA.
Speaking last March security analyst Surya Gangadharan called the project, “a win-win for both India and the U.S.,”
“As long as we can leverage this relationship to counter China in whichever way possible, it is going to be useful.”
The joint production stems from a 2012 agreement, now referred to as the defence Trade and Technology Initiative, to make it easier for the US and India to seal arms transfers
It seems very strange for this process to go so far down the line and then be cancelled.
The Puma was a better fit as far as I was concerned. Hot and high flight conditions demand a slightly larger platform.
There was a bit of a sales push a couple of years ago, I guess as the requirements of the USA’s sandy wars were slowing down. Hilary Clinton is seen holding a Raven in that moderate progressive African country, Uganda.
