Индийский производитель IZI продемонстрировал армее VANA — отечественный беспилотник с тросом для круглосуточного наблюдения

Indian drone manufacturer IZI has demonstrated its indigenously developed VANA tethered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to the Indian Army, months after the force floated a Request for Information (RFI) for the procurement of 5,000 tethered drone systems. A tethered drone is physically connected to a ground station through a specialised cable that provides continuous electrical power and secure data transmission. This allows the drone to overcome the limitations presented by the battery and helps it to stay airborne for extended periods of time. According to IZI, VANA is an indigenous platform designed for various operations, including defence, surveillance, infrastructure, agriculture and disaster-management. The drone has a take-off weight of under 4.5 kg and can be deployed in less than 60 seconds. It has an operational range of up to 24 km, while the VANA Pro offers flight endurance of up to 120 minutes. The platform can operate in temperatures ranging from -15°C to +55°C and withstand winds of up to 15 metres per second, and has protection against dust, drizzle and humidity. For surveillance, VANA features an infrared-enabled omnidirectional obstacle-sensing system that scans forward, backward, left, right and downward. It also incorporates AI-enabled autonomy and safety features such as automatic Return-to-Home, terrain following and geofencing. Its VANA Trinetra payload combines Electro-Optical (EO), Infrared Thermal Imager (IR) and Laser Rangefinder (LRF) sensors, enabling round-the-clock surveillance. According to the company, it can detect vehicles at distances of up to 2.4 km and human movement at up to 800 metres, including in fog or darkness. The drone also supports a Sony ADTi 20MP CMOS camera for high-resolution mapping and infrastructure inspection, while the VANA Pro can carry a MicaSense RedEdge-P multispectral camera. For secure operations, VANA uses AES-256 encrypted data links and FHSS/DSSS communication protocols aimed at reducing jamming and spoofing risks. It also features encrypted onboard storage. The platform integrates dual-band GNSS with an Inertial Navigation System, providing positional accuracy of ±2.5 metres. With RTK/PPK, this can be improved to ±3 cm. According to IZI, VANA can be used for defence and security missions, including surveillance, AI-based target tracking, early intrusion detection and encrypted real-time feeds.