INAS 343 (Indian Naval Air Squadron 343) is an aviation squadron of the Indian Navy, operating

IAI Heron The IAI Heron (Machatz-1) is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by the Malat (UAV) division of Israel Aerospace Industries. It is capable of Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) operations of up to 52 h ...

and

IAI Searcher The IAI Searcher (also known by the Hebrew name מרומית ''Meyromit'' - "Marsh tern", or officially in Israel as the חוגלה ''Hugla'' - "Alectoris") is a reconnaissance UAV developed in Israel in the 1980s. In the following decade, it re ...

MkII

UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...

s based at

Porbandar Porbandar is a city in the States and territories of India, Indian state of Gujarat, perhaps best known for being the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama. It is the administrative center of the Porbandar District and it was the former capi ...

. It is the second squadron in the navy dedicated to operating UAVs after

INAS 342 INAS 342 is an Indian Naval air squadron, operating unmanned aerial vehicles, based at INS Garuda, Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the ...

at Kochi. The Searcher is a third-generation UAV. Heron is the bigger version of Searcher MKII and has a wingspan of about 16 metres. The Searcher carries a modern and sophisticated

electro optic Electro–optics is a branch of electrical engineering, electronic engineering, materials science, and material physics involving components, electronic devices such as lasers, laser diodes, LEDs, waveguides, etc. which operate by the propaga ...

camera and a communication intelligence payload. Heron is equipped with a maritime patrol radar. Both the UAVs have long endurance capabilities, can operate before and after

sunset Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spring ...

and beam real time live pictures of maritime targets. The Searcher MkII has a cruise speed of about 100 knots, a service ceiling of 20,000 feet and an 18-hour endurance. The Heron can touch speeds of over 100 knots with a service ceiling of 30,000 feet and an endurance of 40 hours.

References

External links

*http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-indias-second-uav-squadron-commissioned/20110118.htm {{Indian Navy Aircraft squadrons of the Indian Navy Naval units and formations of India