Moneycontrol | Drones are changing warfare. India needs to move fast

Joint venture and not self-reliance is the best way forward. We also require a culture of collaboration between military and industry. Read full article here.

Mint | Iran-Israel lesson: Effective missile defence is costly and could be risky too

The conflicts between Ukraine and Russia and between Israel and Iran over Palestine have demonstrated that missile defence has come of age. Even before Israel, with the help of the US and its allies, successfully intercepted nearly all of the 320 drones, cruise and ballistic missiles that Iran launched last week, the Ukrainians had reported that they had shot down all 80 of the drones that the Russians had dispatched against them on one New Year’s weekend. Read the full article here.

ThePrint | India can be a major drone hub—if it learns to take risks, accept losses

The multiplicity of roles that drones can undertake has been battle-tested and their utility has been convincingly established. Depending on the role, drones come in various sizes. At the higher end of lethality are the American MQ 9-Reaper and at the lower end of surveillance is the Black Hornet weighing less than 1.2 ounces. India is in the process of acquiring 31 higher-end MQ9B Predator armed drones from the United States at an approximate cost of Rs 2.5 lakh crore. The deal was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US in 2023. The Navy already operates two unarmed Predator drones, which are on lease, at the Rajali naval air station in Tamil Nadu. The new acquisitions will be apportioned to the three Services with the Navy getting the majority share. Apart from the political message of reliance on the US for major weapon systems, it also signals that Atmanirbharta is not currently feasible in this class of weapon systems. Read the full article here.