India is enhancing its drone and counter-drone capabilities ETv Bharat 02 Mar 2025 Maj Gen Harsha Kakar

India is enhancing its drone and counter-drone capabilities ETv Bharat 02 Mar 2025

The Russo-Ukraine war continues to witness a UAV dominated battlefield compelling changing concepts of operations and tactics. A difference compared to employment of brute military power of yester years. Russia initially employed Iranian drones and moved on to develop its Lancet drones which carry a 40 Kg warhead with a range of 40 kms. Ukraine built a drone cottage industry producing hundreds of drones, sourcing cheap Chinese parts from the open market, with which it effectively targeted Russian military equipment.

A recent New York Times report mentions, ‘Drones, not the big, heavy artillery that the war was once known for, inflict about 70 percent of all Russian and Ukrainian casualties.’ It added, ‘Drones armed with shotguns are now shooting down other drones. Antiaircraft drones are being designed to take out surveillance drones flying higher in the sky.’ It now drones vs drones.

Inputs mention that Ukraine has developed sea drones equipped with torpedoes, machine guns and other weapons. It can operate at distances of a thousand kms and performs strike and reconnaissance operations. This has impacted Russia’s naval power.

In simplistic terms, traditional conflicts are giving way to technologically sophisticated battlefields shaped by UAVs. UAVs are being exploited for gathering intelligence as also targeting. Costly military equipment, including tanks and artillery guns are vulnerable to cheap drone strikes, necessitating remedial measures in tactics as also equipment design and development. Battlefield transparency is the order of the day.

Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth, the Southern Army Commander mentioned in a recent seminar, ‘Low-cost drones and loitering munitions have emerged as critical force multipliers in modern conflicts.’ The end result is greater reliance on long range missiles. This is changing the way wars of the future would be fought.

China possesses a sophisticated UAV fleet, including the CH-5 and Wing Loong series, enhancing its tactical and strategic capabilities. Pakistan has deployed the Chinese-designed Burraq and Wing Loong drones alongside Turkish Bayraktar Akinci and Bayraktar TB2 drones. This has led India to accelerate and intensify its UAV modernisation thereby ensuring military balance. Anti-drone capabilities are being given equal importance.

The difficult terrain along both the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and Line of Control (LoC), as also extreme weather conditions pose surveillance and reconnaissance challenges. Hence, drones and satellites employed in combination provide real-time intelligence gathering and operational flexibility, mitigating risks to military personnel.

India is launching a series of satellites for military purposes as also obtains real-time satellite inputs from friendly nations. A classic case is inputs from the US on Chinese buildup opposite Yangtze in Dec 2022, permitted Indian troops to pre-deploy to offset Chinese plans. Under phase 3 of its Space-Based Surveillance program, India is launching 52 surveillance and communication satellites.

The Indian drone industry, led by startups and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises is growing in numbers. As per SP aviation, there are 270 drone startups in India which could be a Rs 5000 crore sector by 2026 and the country would become a global drone hub by 2030. However, few startups possess technologies and hardness of equipment to match demands of the armed forces. The DRDO is also developing loitering munitions or Kamikaze drones.

Currently India relies on the US MQ-9B ‘Sky Guardian’ and Israeli Heron TP drones for surveillance. These offer extended endurance, high-altitude flight and robust reconnaissance. India and the US inked a deal in Oct last year for 31 advanced MQ-9B Predator drones manufactured by General Atomics through an inter-governmental agreement. 21 of them would be assembled in India. The deal also includes Hellfire missiles. The time period for delivery is three years. The company will also establish a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in India.

Simultaneously, India is enhancing its indigenous drone technologies through the DRDO. The Rustom-II, a Medium-Altitude- Long-Endurance UAV, has achieved operational altitudes nearing 27,000 feet with an endurance of 18 hours. Archer-NG, a weaponised drone capable of flying at altitudes up to 30,000 feet, covering ranges up to 1,000 kilometres, forms the next generation of UAVs.

Media inputs mention that India has already inducted the Sky-Striker, with a range of 500 km specifically designed for Suppression of Enemy Air Defences. It has also inducted the Nagastra-1 in 2024, a tactical drone with a 15 km range and a 1 kg warhead, intended for high-altitude warfare along the LAC and LoC.

India is investing in low-cost, high-impact kamikaze drones or loitering munitions. Multiple companies are testing their loitering munitions in different sectors. In 2021, the army demonstrated its capability with a 75-drone swarm, executing coordinated attacks over a 50 km range. In 2023, New Space Research and Technologies delivered a swarm of 100 drones designed for battlefield deployment. National Aerospace Laboratories is developing a long-range loitering munition weighing 150 kg, aimed at striking targets 900 km away possessing an endurance of approximately 8 hours.

Integral to India’s drone strategy is close collaboration with the private sector, implying Military Civil Technological Fusion. Companies including Idea-Forge, Asteria Aerospace, and Garuda Aerospace are developing locally produced UAV technologies. These private-public partnerships reinforce ‘Make in India’ initiative, boost indigenous defence production, and reduce foreign dependence.

Electronic warfare (EW) capabilities are crucial to the future. India’s UAV fleet must be resilient to sophisticated jamming, hacking, and spoofing threats. The army recently rebuffed reports that its UAV was hacked by the Chinese in the Eastern theatre. India is investing in EW technologies to protect its drone systems while maintaining their effectiveness in high electronic warfare environment.

Simultaneously is the need to develop anti-drone capabilities. Recently the DRDO announced the successful testing of its D4 (Drone Detect, Deter, Destroy) anti-drone system, which is now being deployed along the borders. In Dec, the media reported the deployment of Dronaam, India’s indigenous counter-unmanned aerial system, which neutralized 55 percent of drones along the Punjab border. The Home Minister recently mentioned, ‘We are tackling this issue with a “whole of government” approach with private sector and DRDO teaming up.’

Integration of UAVs into operations and tactics are essential for maximising their potential. Joint exercises and wargames are means to enhance integration of UAVs and counter UAVs at every level of warfare. By embracing indigenous innovation, strategic acquisitions, cost-effective loitering munitions, swarm technologies, and robust private-sector partnerships, India is narrowing the drone capability gap against its adversaries.