UAVs, Drones, Remote Surveillance Tech

[A Sharma]

'Vajra Shot' - The India-Made Handheld Anti-Drone Gun With Range of 4 Km

[sanjaykumar]

But do most drones need comms link function to hone to target?
Of course this will be good for drones that are based on targets of opportunity, such as anti-personnel munitions.

[ernest]

Zeus Numerix with DRDO has developed "Tribahu", a bomb carrying/dropping adaptor. This will solve one of the bigger challenges about scaling military drone capacity in times of large scale war. The adaptor allows to carry bombs with multiple levels of safety built-in that reduces risk of accidental detonation on jury rigged armament on civilian drones.

In an interview with Technical Astra ( https://youtu.be/9YvenE54uPQ?si=vlhUVyz_yVxYbnQI ), they have mentioned to have partnered with Agri Drone company (Eplane?) and demonstrated conversion within hours. Agricultural drones are particularly suited for this, as they have decent payload capacity for pesticides. The other developments like Drone Didi will help us build the base drone stock and manufacturing capacity, and Tribahu like kits will allow rapid modifications to military purposes. Hope to see it soon in COIN ops too

With a variety of civilian drone and components capacity, such developments place us well on the path of scaling our military drone output as required. I am really pleased with how DRDO, Armed Forces, and Private Industry has moved faster than usual in this area, some setbacks notwithstanding.

[srai]

'Vajra Shot' - The India-Made Handheld Anti-Drone Gun With Range of 4 Km

Jamming won’t be effective against AI autonomous drones with target recognition … that evolution is happening right now in Ukraine.

Hard-kill mechanism are required. Lasers are great for larger static bases with supporting infrastructure. On the field, individual soldiers/squads would need a shotgun pistol type of close-range defense. Forget knives.

Only way to really counter mass drone attacks cost-effectively is with other AI autonomous protection drones that can seek and destroy opponents. Drone wars … anyone

[sanman]

Indian military is bragging about robot dogs, but I see the Chinese are always keeping ahead

[sanman]

Close Encounters of the Spielberg Kind

[sanman]

This is an interesting type of drone I've not seen before:

[ashthor]

Hijacking Of Indian Army Drone Near Pakistan Border

https://swarajyamag.com/news-brief/afte ... s-solution

The issue of drone security gained national attention on 23 August, when an Indian Army drone operating near the northern border was reportedly hijacked by Pakistani authorities.

Subsequent investigations revealed that many drones employed by the Indian military incorporated Chinese-made parts, raising significant concerns about their susceptibility to interference.

Which company's drone it could be?

[Manish_P]

Indian army unveils Kamekazi MRMS (mobile reactive mine system)

Looks like a mechanical spider with articulated legs

Details on IDRW website

The product was reportedly developed by Major General Raj Prasad.

The device is said to move silently, making it an elusive threat to enemy armor. The design philosophy is to create a self-propelled mine that can actively seek out its target rather than passively wait for it to approach.

First, the operator controls the movement of the mine, bringing it to the positional area. Here, it waits for a target in automatic mode and as soon as the enemy vehicle is within reach, the device either rushes towards it or, if the target is close enough, attaches itself to the target.

[sanman]

Chinese Consumer-Grade Wheeled Ambulatory Drone

[drnayar]

Indian army unveils Kamekazi MRMS (mobile reactive mine system)

Looks like a mechanical spider with articulated legs

Details on IDRW website

The product was reportedly developed by Major General Raj Prasad.

The device is said to move silently, making it an elusive threat to enemy armor. The design philosophy is to create a self-propelled mine that can actively seek out its target rather than passively wait for it to approach.

First, the operator controls the movement of the mine, bringing it to the positional area. Here, it waits for a target in automatic mode and as soon as the enemy vehicle is within reach, the device either rushes towards it or, if the target is close enough, attaches itself to the target.

interesting robot mine.. could be useful in counter insurgency ops.. imagine a mine walking up to the terrorists holding up somewhere and blowing itself up [ just need to attach a camera .. or better get them AI chips to recognise and act autonomously

[tandav]

https://www-ndtv-com.cdn.ampproject.org ... 2501/amp/1

Basically a reflector in the sky redirecting microwave lasers into eyes of soldiers or sensors. Pair this laser dazzlers on tanks or APC that China already fields

https://defense-update.com/20040313_dazzler.html

[A Sharma]

India's weaponized Archer-NG UAV set to dominate skies soon? Report suggests maiden flight likely in February

[Rakesh]

Advanced composite manufacturing unit of Solar Group
https://alphadefense.in/index.php/2025/ ... lar-group/
11 Jan 2025

[YashG]

https://x.com/NePrytuliatysa/status/1847659183102885892

Ukraine invested $25 Mn and now is producing 4,000,000 Drone a year. A coterie of deshdrohis and jokers spent 120 times of that amount $ 3000 million on buying 31 drones. 31 vs 4000000. Lol. Those 31 drones can be downed by even toyota yielding tribal armies but 4 Million drone will wreak havoc.

When the war will come thousands of brave patriotic soldiers will pay for the commissions of our leaders with their lives. We are like this onlee.

Yash G Saar,
aren't we getting carried away a bit here. India's procurement needs to be completely revamped atleast when it comes to procuring from local companies that are truly doing work. But Ukraine is the last country to be emulated for this.

Saying increase of 5 million to 25 million led domestic production of drones to grow from 3000 to 4 million doesn't make mathematical sense either. Are we sure that is the total cost of the drone materials or are parts whole sale imported from Khans MIC and just put together in and around Ukraine and shown as "Atmanirbhar Ukraine" and some parts of the drones are given as "aid" ( loans in a true sense of word) and not put into expenses.

The tweet does give cost breakup of 25 million USD but what is more certain is the capacity to produce 4 million drones a year. That capability / infrastructure is very important ; Infra to produce many times that exists in china currently and they own the whole supply chain.

I dont think our babus or generals are this low IQ to not realise the need to have a massive domestic capability to produce drones but making drones domestically will not earn them their 'ghoos' so they will focus on importing big ticket items where they can manage their 'ghoos' easily - paid directly in foreign accounts away from the surveillance of Indian authorities.

[Rakesh]

Chinese threat in Indian drones
https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/defe ... 2025-01-31
10 Feb 2025

The use of Chinese-made components in Indian drones being supplied to the army runs the risk of compromising national security through the hacking of data. A concerned military is now tightening regulations.

[Rakesh]

https://x.com/rajatpTOI/status/1887694896250617949 ---> Cracking the whip against domestic private sector companies that are using Chinese components in drones being supplied to the armed forces, the defence establishment has now scrapped three contracts for the induction of 400 logistics drones by the Army.

[Rakesh]

https://x.com/livefist/status/1887700461366440332 ---> Indian Army cancels orders for 200 logistics drones from Chennai-based firm Dhaksha Drones over use of Chinese components. The deal had been paused in August last year. 2 other contracts also scrapped.

[A Sharma]

'Game changer' NETRA 5 drone is here! This AI-powered military UAV can defy jamming, operate in extreme conditions

[rrao]

https://x.com/livefist/status/1887700461366440332 indian army cancels 200 logistics drones from Chennai firm.... do we have any alternative? not a single electronic component is made in India. No Indian company exists to make chip passive and active components, neither for commercial use nor for military use. Every damn thing is sourced from china. In Hyderabad, Gujarati gully traders sell electronic components to the local industries sourced from China. no Indian manufacturer makes surface mount components like resistors, capacitors, active components The less said about active components the better. BLDC motors, flight controllers, flight navigation components,we dont have IC manufacturing facilities as every one knows. From gully to Delhi everybody chirps about AI and ML... where is the hardware locally made to run AI and ML algorithms?If US ,Europe and China puts an embargo , which is already in practice on the export of components to india ..no atmanirbharata.... Chandrababu Naidu, Modi sir , and Revanth reddy , they boast about getting companies to India and business worth one lakh crores and blah blah..but none has plans ,ideas,advisors of chip making foundries required for Indian commercial, industrial and military industries. our Govt have no policies for making electronic components in India sadly. Late Ratan Tata realized lately but he is gone...

[srai]

^^^
Emergency import from USA

[Bharadwaj]

One of the most significant development in Indian defence for a while. Newspace selected by Navy for unmanned wingman.

From Livefist

https://www.livefistdefence.com/exclusi ... d-wingman/

EXCLUSIVE: Indian Navy Selects NewSpace For Unmanned Wingman

Livefist can confirm that NRT was chosen by the Indian Navy under the Indian MoD’s Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), a scheme launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 aimed at harnessing leading edge private sector R&D to deliver focused advanced technologies to the Indian military. NRT was chosen from a group of Indian private sector contenders.

[srai]

HAL Optionally Manned Combat Aircraft (OMCA)

[rrao]

^^^
Emergency import from USA

WTF emergency imports sirji from uSA? They dont allow even normal requirements, forget about emergency import....have you not read about USA response during all those wars? Boeing is showing its colours by delaying LCA engines export repeatedly... DJ drones come from china and US market is flooded with them...

[A Sharma]

India's ultimate shield against aerial threats? Adani, DRDO unveils Vehicle-Mounted Counter-Drone System

[A Sharma]

Meet CargoMax 20KHC, India’s heaviest cargo drone which can offer superior logistics capability for armed forces

We have completely developed this in India and do not procure products from anywhere abroad,” added Naik.

[Rakesh]

India’s Own Long-Range Swarming Killer Drone Flies
https://www.livefistdefence.com/indian- ... one-flies/
15 Feb 2025

[Ashokk]

Aero India 2025: Cingularity Aerospace progresses X-61 ISR UAV

The X-61 has a maximum operating range of 250 km.

Bangalore-based Cingularity Aerospace has revealed details about its new X-61 intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

Speaking to Janes at the Aero India 2025 show, Vishal Markanday, the CEO of Cingularity Aerospace, said the X-61 is being jointly developed by the company in partnership with the Indian Navy's Weapons and Electronics Systems Engineering Establishment (WESEE).

The X-61 features delta-wings, forward canards, and a vertical tail. The UAV has a fixed tricycle-type landing gear and is powered by Cingularity Aerospace's 550i, a 550 cc internal combustion piston engine. The UAV measures 2.9 m in length, 1.4 m in height, and has a wingspan of 2.4 m with an all-up weight of 51 kg.

It has a maximum operating range of 250 km and a service ceiling of 6,000 ft. The payload bay can be modified to accommodate role-specific payloads. During flight trials, the X-61 displayed a stable cruising speed of 38 m/s and a stall speed of 22 m/s.

In its most recent test flights conducted on 16 January 2025 at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Chitradurga,

[ramana]

https://x.com/rajatpTOI/status/1887694896250617949 ---> Cracking the whip against domestic private sector companies that are using Chinese components in drones being supplied to the armed forces, the defence establishment has now scrapped three contracts for the induction of 400 logistics drones by the Army.

Its IA fault for not requiring no Chinese parts in the contract.

As usual, get wiser after the hands are burnt.
They should compensate them for lost design and product.

[Manish_P]

^ Even the US military faced the same issue a while back.

So wouldn't the tender/contract have mentioned explicitly that chinese components, especially in the critical systems, were not allowed?

My layman understanding is that it is extremely difficult and/or prohibitively expensive not to have any chinese components in any electronic systems.

It's only now that the west is trying to decouple from their decades old working of having most of their things manufactured in China.

On a lighter note all our soldiers should demand iphones from the MoD. The US emperor would be mighty pleased with it too...

[Manish_P]

I had concerns about wire-guided drones getting entangled in natural and man-made obstacles. Especially in urban environments.

Apparently it is not that much of an issue... (i am still not entirely convinced)

[Ashokk]

https://x.com/Varun55484761/status/1890652793142206659

NAL Loitering Munition With Stealth features. Range 900 Km. Powered by 30 HP Wankel Engine developed by NAL. RCS < 0.5 m2.

Pic :- jaideep jamwal

[ernest]

Footage of Dual ATGM release (MPATGM version) from Archer (Rustam-1 weaponized)
https://x.com/AdithyaKM_/status/1898915657577869336

First weapon release from an Indian fixed wing UAV (to my knowledge)

I remember that BEL won a tender to build a small number (<10) of these a couple of years ago. Not able to track it anywhere. Does anyone know its status?