Following Operation Sindoor, the four-day conflict with Pakistan where drones featured prominently, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has accelerated efforts to bolster its air defence against unmanned threats. The service has issued two Requests for Information (RFIs) for specialised counter-drone systems aimed at neutralising hostile drone swarms targeting vital military assets.

According to Bharat Shakti web portal, this initiative stems from heightened concerns over drone warfare's evolution, as observed in Ukraine, Gaza, and Nagorno-Karabakh. Swarm drones—comprising numerous low-cost units—pose a unique challenge by saturating conventional air defences, which rely on costly surface-to-air missiles ill-suited to engage platforms worth mere hundreds of dollars.

The RFIs outline two distinct counter-swarm solutions. The Mobile Micro-Munitions-Based Anti-Swarm Drone System (MM-ASDS) employs micro-munitions that detonate proximate to incoming drones, augmented by soft-kill measures like jamming radio-frequency links and satellite navigation.

DRDO's latest high power microwave swarm counter drone system

Complementing this, the Kamikaze Drone-Based Anti-Swarm Drone System (KD-ASDS) deploys loitering munitions to intercept swarms from multiple vectors. Both systems integrate electronic jamming for enhanced efficacy.

Key requirements include 360-degree coverage, organic radar detecting drones with radar cross-sections as low as 0.02 square metres, and passive Electro-Optical Systems (EOS) for stealthy tracking—mirroring sensors on Rafale and Su-30MKI fighters.

These developments mark a pivot to layered, multi-domain defences blending kinetic and non-kinetic elements. Operation Sindoor's drone tactics have catalysed this urgency, positioning the IAF to pre-empt future threats in drone-centric warfare.

Agencies