Understanding India’s Drone Requirements
Understanding what India’s drone requirements are in the context of Project Shaktibaan
Authors
Although they once dominated science fiction, drones are now becoming increasingly common. In the military, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAVs can change how battles are fought. Their role in the Nagorno-Karabakh and Russia-Ukraine conflicts showed that they are low-cost ways to achieve some military objectives. However, each country has its own security needs, and technologies like drones need to be adopted to serve them.
Recently, reports covered India’s deal with Israel for Heron MK II UAVs. This started in 2021 but sped up with emergency procurement after Operation Sindoor. Last year, India bought MQ-9B Predators from the United States and is also increasing local production to depend less on imports.
India’s security environment and geography shape its UAV needs. The Himalayas and the Indian Ocean each have different requirements. Along its borders with China, UAVs can be used along the line of control for surveillance at altitudes as high as 15,000-18,000 feet. Smaller drones can be used to attack targets and get past Chinese air defences. Along India’s Western borders with Pakistan, the focus is on counter-terror operations and precision strikes, as seen during Operation Sindoor. Counter-drone systems stop drug and arms smuggling. UAVs also cover long borders and reduce the need for manpower for tasks such as supplying troops. In the expansive Indian Ocean, the navy can utilise systems with long-range capabilities and up to 30 hours of endurance for Maritime Domain Awareness. These should carry radars to find submarines and act as communication links between ships, planes, and bases.
These requirements are also reflected in the priorities of the Indian armed forces. Most recently, the Indian Army has launched Project Shaktibaan, a plan to establish specialised drone regiments within the army’s artillery regiments. These ‘Shaktibaan Regiments’ will be trained to use swarm drones, loitering munitions, and longer-range UAVs. Reports say, that these regiments are an attempt by the army to strike targets as far as a 500km range, a huge expansion from the current 50km range. If successful, these regiments will be instrumental in utilising UAVs along both the Pakistani and Chinese borders with India, enabling the army to improve both its strike and ISR capabilities.