American defence equipment manufacturer Honeywell has offered the Indian Army its latest micro air vehicle (MAV) - a miniature version of a spy helicopter that can be used for surveillance, communication and dropping sensors at sensitive places for information gathering.
The circular vehicle weighs only 7.25 kg (16 pounds), measures 33 centimetres in diameter and is powered by gasoline. It can carry a payload of 7.71 kg (17 pounds) with a service ceiling height of 10,500 ft. Different types of camera, night vision devices and thermal imagers can be mounted on it according to mission requirements.
"The advantage of using this machine in the battlefield or during a volatile situation is that it minimizes the cost of flying a UAV (unmanned ariel vehicle), jet or chopper for low altitude surveillance," Jadish Kumar, marketing director of defence equipment sales, Honeywell, told IANS at the DefExpo-2008.
"The device is superior to any UAV because it can hover above a particular place for a long time whereas UAVs have only forward motion. The tiny machine can fly at a speed of 24 km (40 knots) per hour according to a pre-programmed flight route," he added.
The MAV is ultra light, portable and easily operated by powerful remote control. Two MAVs can take off simultaneously from a single launch pad. Vertical take off and landing system also give it an edge over UAVs.
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