India has achieved remarkable progress in defence self-reliance, adapting swiftly to the evolving landscape of warfare dominated by non-contact technologies. These innovations are proving decisive in modern conflicts, prompting the nation to deploy advanced drones while modernising its military infrastructure, industries, and strategic doctrines for sustained autonomy.

Vijay Kumar Saraswat, former DRDO Director General and current NITI-Aayog member, emphasises that future wars will predominantly feature non-contact, stand-off engagements. “Future wars will be predominantly non-contact and stand-off in nature,” observes Saraswat.

He notes India's transition from 70 per cent import dependence to 60 per cent indigenous production over a decade, with the next phase targeting long-range air-to-air missiles, laser-based directed energy weapons, high-altitude long-endurance UAVs, and swarm-capable drone fleets numbering in the hundreds to overwhelm adversary airspace.

Global conflicts, from Ukraine against Russia to Armenia versus Azerbaijan and Israel confronting Iran, underscore the primacy of drone-centric warfare. Nations excelling in rapid innovation, sustainable manufacturing, and adaptive strategies lead this domain. For India, encircled by tension-prone borders and active conflict zones, mastering unmanned systems is imperative.

The Drone Rules 2021 have catalysed India's drone sector by simplifying regulations, spurring innovation and deployment. The Drone Shakti Mission, unveiled in the 2022 Union Budget, nurtures startups, promotes Drone-as-a-Service models, and fosters incubators alongside public-private partnerships, extending into defence applications.

By mid-2024, India had integrated 2,000 to 2,500 drones, with investments ranging from $361.45 million to $421.69 million, per Stimson Center estimates. The inventory features Israeli reconnaissance UAVs such as the IAI Searcher and Heron, plus loitering munitions like Harpy and Harop. A $3.5 billion pact in October 2024 secures 31 MQ-9B Predator HALE UAVs from the United States.

Indigenous efforts complement imports, yielding platforms like the Nagastra-1 suicide drone, Rustom-2 MALE UAV, and Archer-NG armed tactical drone, all validated in operations.

SP Aviation reports 270 drone start-ups in India, projecting a ₹5,000 crore industry by 2026 and global hub status by 2030. Yet, few possess the ruggedized tech for military rigour.

At the Bangalore Tech Summit, Unmanned's co-founder and CEO Yeshwanth Reddy identified supply chain vulnerabilities as the sector's Achilles' heel, reliant on imported batteries, sensors, motors, and silicon chips. He urged subsystem-level domestic innovation to fortify aerospace self-reliance with enduring national gains.

Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Rahul R Singh echoed these concerns, warning of malware and backdoors in imported flight controllers. He affirmed that a secure, indigenous drone ecosystem is essential, with the Army and Ministry of Defence crafting a Drone Framework to incentivise local production, mitigate risks, and streamline testing.

DRDO advances loitering munitions, or Kamikaze drones, for self-reliant defence. In 2025, it trialled the UAV-Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3 at Kurnool's National Open Area Range in Andhra Pradesh.

India pioneers swarm tactics, unleashing masses of small UAVs to saturate defences. The Army demonstrated 75-drone swarms striking targets over 50 km in 2021. New Space Research and Technologies supplied a 100-drone swarm for battlefield use in 2023.

Countering drone threats, India deploys sophisticated anti-drone systems. The D4 system, from DRDO and BEL, detects, tracks, and neutralises via radar, electro-optical sensors, RF jamming, GPS spoofing for soft kills, and lasers for hard kills, underpinned by a command centre with real-time imaging and RF displays.

The SAKSHAM system, inducted by the Army in October 2025 from BEL, leverages AI for low-altitude defence. It offers 3D visualisation, predictive analysis, and integrated soft/hard kill options.

Bhargavastra, test-fired in May 2025 by Solar Defence and Aerospace Limited, counters swarms with unguided micro-rockets (20-metre kill radius) and guided micro-missiles. Suited for altitudes over 5,000 metres, it detects at 6-10 km and neutralises up to 2.5 km, integrable with jammers and spoofers.

The Army and Air Force will procure 16 indigenous laser-based anti-drone systems, engaging targets at 2 km with 10 kW beams.

DRDO's 30 kW Shahastra Shakti directed energy weapon, trialled at 5 km ranges with defence forces, positions India alongside the US, China, and Russia in this capability. The Indian Army embeds drones deeply into operations, training every soldier via centres at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun, Infantry School in Mhow, and Officers Training Academy in Chennai.

On the 26th Kargil Vijay Diwas, Chief of Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi mandated drone platoons for each infantry battalion and counter-drone systems plus loitering munitions for artillery regiments.

The Army displayed surveillance drones like Asteria AT-15, Switch RPAS, Q6 UAV, and Trinetra during Kargil celebrations on 26 July 2025.

The Border Security Force, securing Pakistan and Bangladesh frontiers, trains "drone commandos" and "drone warriors" at its Tekanpur, Madhya Pradesh academy, inaugurated in September 2025 by DG Daljit Singh Chawdhary for missions like Operation Sindoor.

The Spear Corps executed Exercise 'Drone Kavach' in eastern Arunachal Pradesh in September 2025, validating drones and counters amid combat readiness.

Some 380 infantry battalions now host drone platoons with four surveillance UAVs and six armed variants, including Kamikaze and precision-drop models.

The Army partners with Bangalore's IndyASTRA for AI-enhanced land drones. In 2025, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath opened Raphe mPhibr's drone manufacturing and test facility in Noida.

Beyond warfare, drones transform civilian spheres: mapping floods, seeding fields, delivering medicines to remote areas, and aiding wildlife protection against poachers. India's dual application of this technology drives both security and nation-building.

IDN (With Agency Inputs)