In a bid to boost their fire power in the middle of ongoing operations against China, the defence forces have proposed to equip around 100 Heron drones with missiles to tackle out enemy positions

The proposal would see the drones getting equipped with laser guided bombs, long-range air to ground missiles and anti tank guided missiles, the sources said.

In a bid to boost their fire power in the middle of ongoing operations against China, the defence forces have proposed to equip around 100 Heron drones with missiles to tackle out enemy positions.

"A proposal to equip around 100 Heron drones would be taken up by the defence ministry for approval as they want to strengthen their strike and reconnaissance capabilities using the unmanned systems," Defence sources told India Today TV.

The proposal would see the drones getting equipped with laser guided bombs, long-range air to ground missiles and anti tank guided missiles, the sources said.

The proposal has been pending for many years now and is being revived by the services in view of the developing hostile environment around the country.

In the ongoing situation, India is also going to place more orders for the Heron surveillance drones.

India is planning to enhance its surveillance capabilities and firepower by placing orders for Heron surveillance drones and Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israel under the emergency financial powers granted by the government.

The Heron unmanned aerial vehicles are already in the Air Force, Navy, and the Army and are being used extensively at the moment by both Army surveillance and Target acquisition batteries and Air Force in the Ladakh sector.