Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in India: Indian Army’s Roadmap for Next-Generation Drone Warfare

The Indian Army has unveiled a technology roadmap for Unmanned Aerial System and Loitering Munitions in New Delhi.

• The event brought together key stakeholders from the armed forces, defence industry, start-ups and academia, reinforcing a whole of nation approach towards building a resilient and self- reliant drone ecosystem.

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Key Features

• Structured Development of Ecosystem: This initiative is a significant step towards providing long term visibility of the Indian Army’s requirement in the field of Unmanned Aerial Systems. 
• Clear Guidance to Stakeholders: It provides clear, actionable visibility to industry, academia and research and development institutions to channelize investments and technological efforts towards priority areas identified by it.
• Bridging Operational Gaps: The document serves as a critical bridge between operational requirements and technological development, ensuring that India’s drone ecosystem evolves in a structured, demand-driven manner.
• Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS): It emphasizes the development and deployment of UAS for roles such as surveillance, reconnaissance, and logistics support to enhance situational awareness and operational efficiency.
• Loitering Munitions (Kamikaze Drones): It focuses on advancing loitering munitions capable of carrying out precision strikes with high accuracy, thereby improving targeted offensive capabilities.
• Balance in Warfare: The roadmap highlights the need to achieve a balance between mass deployment of drones, such as swarm technologies, and precision targeting to adapt to the evolving nature of modern warfare.

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Significance

• Changing Nature of Warfare: Modern conflicts, particularly drone-intensive wars, highlight a shift towards cost-effective warfare, reduced human risk, and enhanced real-time intelligence gathering capabilities.
• Boost to Aatmanirbhar Bharat: The roadmap contributes to Aatmanirbhar Bharat by reducing dependence on imports and promoting indigenous defence manufacturing and innovation.
• Strengthening Defence Preparedness: The initiative enhances defence preparedness by improving surveillance capabilities, enabling precision strike abilities, and increasing overall tactical flexibility in military operations.

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