Tethered Drones, Loitering Munitions, Jet Packs — How The Indian Army Is Inducting High Tech Weaponry

In an effort to modernize its existing weapons inventory, the Indian Army is inducting a range of new-age high-tech weaponry into its arsenal.

One such high-tech equipment is the 130 tethered drones ordered by the Army from a Bengaluru-based firm NewSpace Research for conducting surveillance in high-altitude areas.

This order according to a report is worth Rs 250 crore.

Tethered drones are a category of unmanned aerial vehicles linked to a ground-based station via a tether.

This configuration allows long-range surveillance of targets beyond the line of sight, for extended time-periods.

This contract for these 130 tethered drones was signed under an emergency procurement route, utilizing a fast-track procedure under the 'buy-Indian' category.

In addition to the 130 tethered drones, the Army has also ordered 19 tank driving simulators.

These simulators will help virtually train drivers of tanks and infantry combat vehicles (ICV). Additionally, they will contribute to minimising wear and tear on tanks and ICVs during training.

With the induction of these new-age technologies, the Indian Army is well on track to re-invent its image of largely operating obsolete equipments.

The Indian Army has recently expedited the procurement of cutting-edge high-tech equipment, including loitering munitions, SWARM drones, logistics drones and mules, VTOL surveillance drones and jet packs from private manufacturers.

Newspace Research earlier delivered SWARM drones to the Army, on the sidelines of Aero India 2023, potentially making the Indian Army the first major force globally to operationalise SWARM drones.

Additionally, it is collaborating with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to develop drones with Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities, with loyal wingman-type systems and loitering munitions, as part of the Combat Aerial Teaming System (CATS) program.

CATS Warrior — a loyal wingman type drone — for Tejas fighter jets can carry and launch ALFA-S SWARM drones, while the CATS Hunter serves as a small range low-observable cruise missile.

Earlier this month, on August 8th, the Indian Army procured 200 logistics drones from Daksha Unmanned Systems.

These drones are likely to be Dhaksha Systems DH-HM (Hybrid Multirotor) logistics drones, capable of carrying a four-kilogram payload for up to four hours, covering a maximum range of 20 kilometre at a speed of 72 kilometre per hour.

Raphe Mphibr, another private drone manufacturer, has also secured two successive contracts for supplying 48 mR-20 logistics drones for high-altitude areas and 100 quadcopters for the Indian Army.

Merely three months ago (in April), Indian Army also signed a deal with Nagpur-based Solar Industries to supply 'Nagastra' loitering munition beating competitive offerings from Israel and Poland, as well.

Two years ago, in January 2021, Ideaforge, another private drone manufacturer, secured a contract worth $20 million to provide the Switch Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) surveillance drone.

These Switch VTOL drones were the first drones capable to land and take-off from altitudes of over 18,000 feet.

The Army is also testing jet packs for enhanced tactical mobility along the line of actual control (LAC).

It evaluated these suits in Agra in collaboration with Richard Browning, the founder of Gravity Industries, which designs these suits.

The suits according to the Army’s request for proposals (RFP) should be able to fly with a payload of 80 kilograms with a maximum speed of 50 kilometre per hour. 

The induction of these advanced weaponry underscores the Army's commitment to enhancing its operational prowess and adapting to evolving challenges.