Part III - Are Indian Armed Forces Equipped and Prepared to fight Drone Wars?
As per the EurAsian Times, India is at least a decade behind Pakistan and even further behind China. However, the Indian drone industry has leapfrogged in the last 10 years with an enabling environment from the government - production-linked incentive scheme for drones. It is important to note that none of the India-made drones are in service; however, India is trying to import drone technology from various countries like the US and Israel.
Military UCAVs/UAVs in service in India include: SEARCHER Mark 1 and 2, HERONs and HAROPs. 31 US-manufactured Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) – MQ-9B SEA GUARDIANS (Eight each for the Air Force and Indian Army and 15 for the Indian Navy) are in the pipeline. Other UCAVs/UAVs are under various stages of development.
HERON TP UCAV, a medium altitude, range of around 7,400 kilometers (4,600 miles), and can carry 1000 kg of payload of sensors with take-off weight of 1,150 kg, stay aloft up to 52 hours (depending on the chosen flight profile). With an operating ceiling of 32,000 ft, it has proven to be an extremely useful surveillance tool along the mountainous Northern borders. HAROP UCAV is a loitering missile capable of seeking targets and destroying them with pin-point accuracy. It has a 1000 km range and 6 hours endurance. It can be launched against land-based and sea-based targets. The UCAV detects strong pulses from targets such as missiles, radars and hits at the source. It is possible to launch the Harop from ground, sea and air.
ADANI HERMES 900, UCAV is capable of both surveillance and aerial bombardment, with high-performance sensors that can detect ground or maritime targets across a wide spectrum with payload capacity of 350 kgs are manufactured at the Adani Defense and Aerospace facility in Hyderabad. Not only the facility has delivered UAVs but also supplied to Israel and deployed in Gaza.
The Indian Army initially obtained from Israel the Searcher Mark I in 1988, followed by Searcher Mark II with abilities to stay aloft for up to 18 hours and carries a variety of sensors. Currently the Indian armed forces have some 200+ MALE Searcher and HERON UAVs of Israeli origin and a few HAROP UAVs recently inducted by the IAF.
The IAF has deployed HERONS at least in four bases in North East India—Tezpur in 2015, Bagdogra in 2017, Chabua, and Kumbhirgram in 2019. Moreover, Searcher Mk IIs have been deployed in Jaisalmer and Nal air bases along the border with Pakistan. According to the reports, the air force stations in Jammu and Awantipora are home to two UAV units.
In 2015, the Indian Navy dispatched a Heron and Searcher Mk II to Port Blair to monitor maritime traffic around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands’.
To maintain air superiority over the Indo-Pacific region, India is acquiring 31 US-manufactured Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) – MQ-9B SEA GUARDIANS (Eight each for the Air Force and Indian Army and 15 for the Indian Navy). MQ-9B SEA GUARDIAN, endurance of more than 30 hours, range with mission radius of 1200 nautical miles and significant on-station time for submarine hunting, and designed for all-weather maritime operations that can be controlled by satellite links beyond the horizon across the globe. The platform can deploy, monitor and control sonobuoys. It has four wing stations available to carry up to four sonobuoys dispensing pods and can dispense up to 80 ‘G’ size or 40 ‘A’ size sonobuoys. This platform is a perfect buddy to a crewed ASW aircraft for long missions. The combination of armaments that can be carried includes AGM-114 Hellfire (Air to Ground Missiles), GBU-12 Paveway II (Airborne Laser-Guided Bomb), GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (Bomb Guidance Kit), GBU-49 Enhanced Paveway II (Enhanced Dual-mode GPS and Laser Guided Bomb), and GBU-54 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munitions (Guidance Kit for Bombs).
Under development by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) are many systems. One, Nishant is a multi-mission UAV, was test flown first in 1995, but ultimately came to an end in 2018 with the Army cancelling orders. Two, under various stages of development and test flights by the DRDO are three variants of the Rustom UAV: Rustom-1 Tactical UAV with endurance of 12 hours (test flown on 11 November 2009): Rustom-H, MALE Larger UAV, with flight endurance of over 24 hours, higher range and service ceiling that Rustom-1 under development; and TAPAS-BH-201 (based on Rustom-2 model) MALE UAV (test flown on 15 November 2016. Three, three MAVs, fully autonomous, namely Black Kite, Golden Hawk and Pushpak have been designed and developed that have an endurance of 20 mts to 1 Hr. Two variants of 2 Kg class FWMUAV are developed - the Imperial Eagle and Slybird. The payload provides ISR information and a video tracking system ensures the continuous ISR information during the flight & a state of the art Ground Control station controls the entire mission from launch to recovery. Add to them, the DRDO NETRA (Micro-UAV developed for anti-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations); ABHYAS (UAV developed by the ADE to evaluate missile systems); and RUAV-200 (Rotary UAV (RUAV) with a fuel engine.
Four, AURA, autonomous stealthy UCAV, weighing 15 tons, powered by single turbofan engine, and cruise at Mach 1.2 at an altitude of 30,000 ft, capable of releasing missiles, bombs and precision-guided munitions, full scale prototype expected in 2025. Three, Ghatak/SWIFT UCAV is a stealthy, autonomous, and jet-powered system developed for the Indian Air Force. Five, Archer-NG, a MALE UCAV, upgraded version of the Rustoum-1 drone, is under development – operating altitude up to 30,000 feet, endurance of up to 18 hours and capable of carrying 300 kilograms of weaponry to include indigenously developed smart anti-airfield weapons (SAAWs) and anti-tank guided missiles. Archer-NG has a line-of-sight range of 250 kilometers and a beyond line-of-sight range of around 1000 kilometers.
HAL is planning to develop CATS WARRIOR, stealth based, as part of a family of LOYAL WINGMAN aircraft and associated systems, including small swarming drones, a remote weapons carrier launched by manned fighters, and even a drone control aircraft based on the HAL Tejas fighter jet, the Mothership for Air-teaming exploitation (MAX).
There are over 33 “Startups” integrating AI and IoT technologies and doing cutting-edge innovation mostly producing Multirotor Dones: Quadcopters, Hexacopters and Octocopters besides Micro Drones - Heliplane hybrid VTOL UAV - fixed-wing aircraft that have been modified to take off and land vertically.
Startups developing UAVs for Defense Forces and others include: Amber Wings; Artemon Aerospace; Asteria Aerospace Limited; Aeroarc in joint collaboration with Skydio; BharatRohan; BonVAero: Dhaksha Unmanned Systems; EndureAir Systems; Enercomp Solutions; FlyBase: Garuda Aerospace; IdeaForge; IoTechWorld; IG Drones Technology Company; Newspace Research & Technologies (NRT); Garuda Aerospace; Optimized Electrotech; and VECROS.
IG Drones Technology Company has secured a procurement order from the Ministry of Defense to provide surveillance drones - 5G-enabled Jaga Drones – enabled with 5G capability, Newspace Research & Technologies (NRT) is a leader in swarm drone technology that has delivered a world-class swarming system and created a global record of the highest altitude flight for a multirotor system. It has demonstrated solar-powered 21-hour continuous flight. EndureAir Systems - Holds five patents in landing technology and vertical takeoff segments. Collaborates with DRDO and HAL; ideaForge - 20 patents with customers to include the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, all CAPFs (CRPF, BSF, NSG, etc), state police forces and Indian Railways, Survey of India, TAFE, NTPC, DRDO and L&T and has completed more than 220K end customer missions, and contract with the Indian Army to deliver 200 systems, high altitude service ceiling of 6,000 mtr; BharatRohan - recognized among the top 10 startups selected by the Indian Army’s Army Design Bureau (ADB); Dhaksha Unmanned Systems - Dhaksha Unmanned offers seven drone-based solutions for defense and others; Artemon Aerospace, has developed VAZRA, a next-Gen loitering UAV – cutting-edge design, that is air launched from other UAVs: BonV Aero - developing heavy lift electric vertical takeoff & landing (eVTOL) vehicles for quick logistics movement in hilly Himalayan terrains to cater to the needs of Indian defense, and others; etc.
Asteria Aerospace Limited is a full-stack drone technology company providing “Real-time Intelligence, Situational Awareness, 360 degrees Aerial Surveillance and Customized Solutions from aerial data based on Quadcopters – A200, A200-XT, A410-XT and AT-15 (VTOL). Asteria Mission Control application comes with user-friendly tools to enable pilots to plan end-to-end drone missions and maintain enhanced situational awareness in flight. Live stream drone video and flight information to remote locations through Asteria's SkyDeck cloud platform and record flight routes, videos, and images in flight and playback historic missions.
Three Goa undergraduates have designed and constructed a first-person view (FPV) drone that can be deployed in combat, with their budget barely touching Rs 1 lakh. The drone is equipped with a goggle headset and provides users with a real-time aerial experience. Kalyani Group has developed a new short range tactical UCAV. DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations Limited has announced the launch of a ground-breaking FPV (first-person view) drone equipped with advanced day and night vision capabilities tailored specifically for defense applications. Its unparalleled innovation is designed to revolutionize tactical operations.
Aeroarc in joint collaboration with Skydio, USA drone major are manufacturing to support the establishment of India as a global hub for advanced defense technology – for the Indo-Pacific region. Skydio will bring "advanced autonomous flight technology to India. Their small uncrewed aircraft systems (sUAS) serve needs of the defense ministry as well as global powers.
India’s Current Counter Drone Capabilities
Chennai-based Big Bang Boom Solutions Pvt Ltd will be supplying its cutting-edge anti-drone systems – VAJRA SENTINEL- to the IAF and IA for a sum exceeding Rs.7200/- crore. The system employs a two-pronged approach to combat drone threats: Soft Kill Technology – jamming techniques to disrupt the drone’s control signal effectively grounding it; and Hard Kill Technology – deploy interceptor drones to neutralize them.
Vajra Sentinel leverages AI and computer vision algorithms within its core sensor system that enables the system to precisely identify, classify, and locate incoming drones, ensuring swift and targeted countermeasure - operational range extends to 10 kms with hard kill capabilities engaging at a distance of 5-6 kms. The system is based on a sophisticated decision-making matrix that autonomously determines the most appropriate response to a drone threat. It uses passive Radio Frequency (RF) sensor technology minimizing false alarms. This system can be upgraded on demand with advanced technologies like Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar and kamikaze drones.
Next, Adani Defense & Aerospace TRL 9 system MIL-STD-810-G, quick to install and easy to operate in either auto or manual mode, with immediate “Friend and Foe Detection” capability besides accurately detecting, direction, location, tracking of drones/operators, comprehensive & Smart with enhanced and automatic detection, classification and neutralization capabilities, “Smart COMJAM mitigation – Clean Spectrum and GNSS Jamming” capability, is currently deployed in varied applications across critical infrastructure, sensitive sites and national border.
The system ensures multi-layer detection with extended coverage range, fully automated C2 platform and “Day and Night” operating capability in “urban, semi-urban and rural environments.” Its radar systems provide advanced 3D (X and S band), 360° coverage with 30m up to >10+ km detection range, detects more than 100 target at a time and differentiates between drones and other aerial objects.
Furthermore, the SIGINT and RF/GNSS Jamming systems are also provide coverage to include: long range passive system for automatic detection and classification; Direction Finding (DF) and Drone Geo-location; Software-Defined Radio (SDR) wideband scanning and detection; Whole band coverage 400MHz – 6000MHz; SMART jamming covering all operating bands; Clean spectrum jamming – not affecting other frequencies; Long range, omni-directional and directional antennas supported with advanced waveforms; and Extendable to take-over and spoofing operations.
Its EO/IR characteristics include: High Power Microwave for neutralizing SWARM of drones; supports in visual detection, tracking and investigation; both cooled/uncooled configurations; automatic locking and tracking of the target slewed from radar Hard Kill; High Power Laser offering long range neutralization; Hunting Drone that can navigate in GPS denied environment; Pre-planned autonomous patrol missions that can operate at more than 140km/h; and Integration with Air Defense Systems and Small Arms.
The DRDO has been working with “Tatas, L&T and the Adani group as transfer of technology (ToT) partners” for producing indigenously grown anti-drone systems. Upgraded ZSU-23-4 Shilka to get Hybrid Anti-Drone System developed by Indian Army. DRDO's RF/Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) can likewise be applied as a countermeasure as it can be used in jamming of drones. Similarly, a net that is being held by an uncrewed aircraft can be utilized, for instance, Negation of Improvised Non-state Joint Aerial-threats (NINJA) equipment.
India's first AI-powered anti-drone system is called INDRAJAAL. INDRAJAAL can protect areas up to 1000 to 2000 square kilometers. It was developed by Graene Robotics, a Hyderabad-based robotics firm, and launched in September 2023. INDRAJAAL is a network-centric system that includes sensors, weapons, and a control system. It can protect important installations like oil fields and nuclear installations, and can also protect entire cities from any type of drone.
Zen Anti Drone System (CUAS)/Counter UAS are a multi-layer multi sensor Architecture aimed at providing comprehensive security against drone attacks. Modules of Multi sensor setup include: RF Based Drone detector (RFDD); Video based Drone Identification & Tracking (VDIT); RADAR; Data fusion and Command Center (DFCC); and Drone RF Jammer (DRFJ).
To sum up, India is technology wise at least 5-10 years behind China, USA, Russia, Israel, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan besides others; but is poised to catch up with the rest. However, a large number of Start Ups are catching up with adversary’s technology capabilities. Funded and assisted, they can easily meet the lower end tactical requirements of armed forces.
0 Comments