January 31, 2013: While Boeing will have the largest aircraft once again at Aero India 2013, with a USAF C-17 Globemaster III—the first C-17 for the IAF entered flight test earlier in January—it will be debuting a smaller aircraft that it has been showcasing as a potential platform for the Indian military: the ScanEagle. The low-cost, long-endurance autonomous unmanned vehicle is a small part of a big unmanned systems push by foreign vendors in India.

According to the company, Boeing foresees customers using ScanEagle vehicles individually or in groups to loiter over trouble spots and provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data or communications relay. It adds that as standard payload ScanEagle carries either an inertially stabilized electro-optical or an infrared camera. The gimbaled camera allows the operator to easily track both stationary and moving targets, providing real-time intelligence. Capable of flying above 16,000 feet, the UAV has also demonstrated the ability to provide persistent low-altitude reconnaissance.