The Indian Navy recently published a request for information in line with a planned acquisition of a new type of medium-range loitering munition that can be launched at sea or from shore.
The loitering munition will form part of a universal strike system and will be developed to be capable of striking seagoing and land-based targets.
The munition must have a length of no more than 2.5 metres, a wingspan of three metres, a range of more than 1,000 kilometres, a loitering time of nine hours at a speed of 75 knots, and a maximum flight altitude of 15,000 feet (4,600 metres).
The craft must also be of modular design with an electro-optical/infrared seeker head for both target acquisition and terminal guidance.
The munition itself must be either indigenously designed and manufactured or built by Indian firms in partnership with foreign original equipment manufacturers, whether through technology transfer or the formation of a joint venture.
The Indian military currently operates a locally manufactured variant of the Harop loitering munition originally designed by Israel Aerospace Industries.
