Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently unveiled the Enhanced Collaborative Autonomous Rover System (ECARS) in an annual North Tech Symposium at IIT Jammu. The specially designed ECARS is a cutting-edge 4X4 multi-terrain operative unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), which has been developed by Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd from Pune.
The North Tech Symposium is an annual event jointly organised by the Indian Army’s Headquarters of Northern Command, the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) and IIT-Jammu. It offers a platform for defence manufacturers, industry experts and academicians to deliberate upon the requirements of the Indian Army. The event comprises several product launches, military equipment displays and exhibitions. The UGV ECARS were displayed at the recently concluded symposium.
The developer of UGV ECARS, Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd is a fully owned subsidiary of Bharat Forge, which stands at the forefront of innovation in the field of autonomous military technology. ECARS is designed to perform a wide range of missions such as surveillance, security, rescue operations and safety.
The ECARS is an unmanned ground vehicle as it has no person sitting in the vehicle while operated. However, it is armed with an enhanced collision avoidance system and advanced mission planning capabilities that allow the vehicle to be used for a wide range of military operations. The speed of ECARS ranges between 16 and 20 kilometres per hour, along with a payload capacity of 350 Kg and a towing payload capacity of 500 Kg.
This special UGV is equipped with modern equipment that would help to keep an eye on the border areas of the country, which can soon be used by the Indian Army on the required sites. Currently, a few European countries have been using this feature for border safety. ECARS is made in two different versions, one of which is the wheel version that consists of tyres, while the other version has been designed to be operated in the snowy mountains.
With the help of ECARS, the Indian Army personnel will be able to keep surveillance in a longer range of about 10 kilometres, without even deploying any soldier. Apart from that the vehicle has its own self-defence mechanism through which it can respond to the enemies through fire-fighting and chemical spraying to safeguard itself.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
First Published: Sept 30, 2023 3:16 PM IST
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