As drone warfare reshapes modern security challenges, Hyderabad-based Indrajaal has emerged as one of India’s notable indigenous counter-drone technology developers. Founded by Kiran Raju in 2023, the company has transformed years of research and development into operational deployments, securing Ministry of Defence contracts worth over ₹100 crore after investing approximately ₹30 crore in developing its technology.

The company was established with a clear objective: to create intelligent infrastructure capable of detecting, assessing, tracking, and neutralising hostile drones while simultaneously enabling the safe operation of authorised unmanned aircraft in increasingly crowded airspace.

At the heart of Indrajaal’s ecosystem is SkyOS, an artificial intelligence-powered command platform that integrates sensors, surveillance systems, command-and-control functions, and multiple countermeasures into a single operational network. The platform is designed to identify aerial threats, evaluate their risk levels, and determine an appropriate response in real time.

Unlike traditional systems that depend heavily on constant human decision-making, SkyOS can operate autonomously while remaining under supervisory oversight. Human operators can monitor engagements and intervene whenever required, providing a balance between automation and accountability.

The vision behind the company comes from founder and Chief Executive Officer Kiran Raju, whose experience spans autonomous systems, infrastructure development, and defence-related projects. He completed a degree in Computer Engineering from Manipal Academy of Higher Education in 1999 and later earned a Master of Science in Computational Biology from Carnegie Mellon University in the United States in 2004.

Raju’s exposure to autonomous technologies dates back to his time at Carnegie Mellon University, where research teams were working on self-driving vehicle projects associated with DARPA challenges. Although he was not directly involved in building those vehicles, the experience introduced him to the potential of autonomous systems and machine decision-making.

Before entering the drone-defence sector, Raju worked on infrastructure projects. Around 2007, he helped develop a residential community in Hyderabad that operated on a solar-enabled microgrid architecture. The project employed smart metering technology to monitor power consumption and automatically manage electricity generation when utility supply became insufficient.

Each residence was connected to a central management platform that collected near real-time usage data. When power shortages occurred, autonomous systems activated local diesel generators and calculated billing based on the specific source of electricity consumed, allowing residents to manage costs more effectively.

Raju later joined his family’s defence construction business, which undertook projects for the Military Engineer Services. During this period, he worked with DRDO on the development of high-altitude shelters for Indian Army personnel in Ladakh.

Constructing these facilities presented significant logistical challenges because many locations could only be reached by foot or mule. Temperatures frequently dropped below -20°C and could fall to -40°C during severe storms. Construction windows were limited to roughly four months each year due to extreme weather conditions.

Raju participated in both the design and implementation of shelters at locations including Chang La Pass. The modular designs had to accommodate transportation constraints while ensuring suitability for remote high-altitude environments. The resulting concept later served as a foundation for additional shelter deployments.

In 2008, he established Grene Robotics, focusing on artificial intelligence, autonomous architectures, and enterprise operating systems capable of integrating people, machines, processes, and data through a common decision-making platform.

This work eventually evolved into GreneOS, an AI-driven operating system that enabled organisations to process information, coordinate assets, and automate decisions. The expertise developed through these projects later became central to Indrajaal’s counter-drone capabilities.

By 2020, Raju and his team began examining the growing security risks posed by inexpensive drones. They recognised that adversaries could deploy low-cost unmanned systems against sensitive targets, while defenders often relied on disproportionately expensive responses.

The team concluded that future conflicts would increasingly involve autonomous aerial threats, requiring affordable, intelligent, and scalable defensive solutions. This insight led to the conceptualisation of the Indrajaal counter-drone ecosystem before the company was formally incorporated in 2023.

The challenge extended beyond merely detecting drones. The system also needed to determine whether an aircraft represented a genuine threat, classify its type, track its movement, and select the most effective countermeasure without overwhelming human operators.

Additional Ranger capabilities reported in 2026 include the “Retractor” system for recovering rogue drones, “Lakshman Rekha” virtual protective boundaries that prevent unauthorised incursions, and net-based physical interception mechanisms integrated into the broader SkyOS architecture.

The company’s progress has translated into significant commercial success. In early 2026, Indrajaal secured Ministry of Defence contracts worth more than ₹100 crore for deployment of its autonomous counter-drone systems to protect Indian Army and Indian Navy installations. The systems are intended for use across fixed sites, mobile platforms, and naval environments.

Later, in August 2026, Indrajaal and manufacturing partner Sigma Advanced Systems announced fresh orders valued at approximately ₹155 crore for the Ranger platform. These orders covered border security deployments, urban security requirements, and VVIP protection missions, further expanding the company’s operational footprint.

With drone use expected to expand rapidly across commercial, civilian, and military sectors, Indrajaal sees counter-drone technology as essential infrastructure for future airspace management. The company’s strategy combines autonomous decision-making, layered defence mechanisms, and indigenous engineering to create what it believes will become a foundational element of both national security and the wider drone economy.

Agencies