Here’s How The Indian Army Is Modernising Its UAV Fleet & Preparing For Future Warfare

The Indian Army is actively looking to improve its fleet of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) to enhance its surveillance, reconnaissance and attack capabilities.

There is a global shift towards unmanned capabilities in the defence arena. In 2020, the world took note when the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region played out.

The reason was the novel usage of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV), which set the tone for future warfare. Azerbaijan, with the use of Turkish drones and Israeli loitering munitions, wreaked havoc on the Armenian forces. The country suffered a huge loss in terms of number of tanks, armoured fighting vehicles, infantry fighting vehicles, towed artillery guns, self-propelled artillery, multi-barrel rocket launchers and radars.

In fact, the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has also highlighted an increased exploitation of unmanned capabilities.

Even though unmanned systems are not likely to replace manned aircraft in the immediate future, they are being seen as an alternative to minimise direct human involvement in conflicts. World over, there is talk of combining the manned and unmanned aerial capabilities. India, too is working on such a project developed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Today, India is faced with multiple security challenges. The South Asian neighbourhood at large is seeing unrest. The unrest, coupled with constant security trouble emanating from China and Pakistan, makes India vulnerable to security challenges.

At the same time, there is an increasing global reliance on unmanned systems in warfare. It thus becomes a necessity for India to urgently modernise and expand its UAV fleet to ensure national security, operational effectiveness, and disaster response.

As a result, the Indian Army is reportedly drawing a long-term plan to expand its fleet of heavy-duty drones for missions such as intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance (ISR) and precision-strike.

To this effect, India signed an over $3.5 billion contract with the US to procure 31 MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems in October last year.

True to India's ambitions when it comes to UAVs, the country, only in January 2025, joined the Airbus-led Eurodrone programme as an observer. Eurodrone is a four-nation development programme of Germany, France, Italy and Spain, led by the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR).

Why the Indian Army Needs Advanced UAVs and RPAS

India faces a set of complex security challenges that make the use of UAVs and UCAVs (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles) essential for miliary operations.

Keeping in mind enhanced range, endurance, altitude and weaponisation, the Indian Army is focusing on improving UAV capabilities to meet future challenges. The Indian Army is on a lookout for heavy-duty drones which can operate at a range of more than 1000 km for long-range strategic ISR missions and fly at altitudes over 30,000 feet to evade detection. This will allow for deep surveillance and long-range reconnaissance. Moreover, with weaponisation, the Indian Army is planning to introduce armed drones like MQ-9B in the near future, enabling precision strikes against enemy targets.

In terms of endurance, the new UAVs should be able to stay in the air for over 24 hours, ensuring continuous monitoring and intelligence gathering.

The Indian Army currently operates UAVs in the Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) category, such as the Israeli-made Heron and Searcher drones, which are primarily used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. These platforms have been used to monitor India's borders and support counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations.

It becomes pertinent for India to possess advanced unmanned capabilities to safeguard itself on several fronts.

Active Fronts on Two Sides: India has two active borders, with China in the north and Pakistan in the west, both of which require constant surveillance and readiness. UAVs can provide real-time intelligence and monitoring of enemy movements across the vast and often difficult terrain. In addition to this, China, which operates some of the most advanced drones in its kitty. These include combat drones of several types such as reconnaissance drones, strike drones and swarm drones. Pakistan is known to have purchased some of these advanced drone capabilities to strengthen its arsenal.

Large Area of Operations: The Indian Army has an immensely large area of operation. While it carries out its duties within the country and safeguards the borders from all sides. In order to carry out conventional military operations and counter-terrorism missions, among other duties the force performs, UAVs are useful for several of these roles by improving surveillance, aiding search and rescue missions, and reducing risks to personnel.

Enhancing Counter-Terrorism Operations: UAVs play a key role in tracking insurgent movements, monitoring cross-border infiltration and carrying out precision strikes on terrorist hideouts, especially in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and other sensitive areas.

Disaster Relief and Search & Rescue: In situations like floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters, UAVs help in quickly assessing damage, locating stranded people and coordinating relief efforts. India is required to extend Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) efforts to its neighbours and friendly foreign countries. There are UAVs developed especially for the purpose of Medical Evacuation and HADR ops, too.

UAVs Around the World

Many countries have successfully deployed UAVs and RPAS in modern conflicts and strategic operations.

United States of America: The U.S. military extensively uses UAVs like the MQ-9 Reaper and RQ-4 Global Hawk for surveillance and targeted strikes. During operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, UAVs played a critical role in eliminating high-value terrorist targets.

China: The People's Liberation Army (PLA) operates more than 2,000 UAVs, including combat drones like CH-5, Wing Loong, and the stealthy GJ-11 Sharp Sword, demonstrating their increasing reliance on unmanned warfare.

Turkey: The Bayraktar TB2 drones were used effectively in conflicts in Libya, Syria, and the Armenia-Azerbaijan war, proving their ability to shape battlefield outcomes.

Israel: A pioneer in UAV technology, Israel uses drones like Heron TP and Harop, which are known for their long endurance and "kamikaze" strike capabilities.

Ukraine: The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has shown how UAVs can be used to neutralise enemy tanks, disrupt supply chains, and target command centers, highlighting their effectiveness even against larger military forces.

Comparison with China and Pakistan

China and Pakistan are working to enhance their UAV capabilities, and India too is rapidly modernising its fleet to maintain regional security balance.

Beijing operates a large fleet of UAVs, including the CH-4, CH-5, Wing Loong series, CH-7 stealth UCAV, and GJ-11 Sharp Sword, while Islamabad ises 150-200 UAVs, including the CH-3-based Burraq, CH-4B, Wing Loong-1 & 2, and Turkish Bayraktar TB2 and Akinci drones.

Building a Stronger and More Advanced UAV Fleet

To stay ahead of threats and prepare for future challenges, the Indian Army is focusing on:

Indigenous Development: Encouraging Indian companies to build next-generation UAVs under the 'Make in India' initiative.

Stronger Collaboration: Partnering with defence manufacturers, research institutions, and international allies to develop advanced UAVs.

Improving Electronic Warfare Capabilities: Ensuring UAVs can resist jamming and cyber-attacks from adversaries.

Network Integration: Connecting UAVs to the Army's defence systems for better coordination and real-time intelligence sharing.

Indigenous Developments

DRDO's Rustom Series: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed the Rustom series, including the Rustom-II (also known as TAPAS-BH-201), a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV designed for surveillance and reconnaissance roles. Efforts are ongoing to enhance its capabilities to meet the Army's operational requirements.

Archer-NG: The DRDO is also working on the Archer-NG, a weaponised MALE UAV with a maximum altitude of 30,000 feet, a payload capacity of 300 kg, and a range of 1,000 km. It is designed for roles including intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, reconnaissance, and precision strikes. The first flight is anticipated in the near future.

Private Sector Contributions

ideaForge: A leading Indian drone manufacturer, ideaForge has achieved over 550,000 successful UAV flights and has localised nearly 70% of its critical drone components. Their drones are utilised for mapping, security, and surveillance applications.

Asteria Aerospace: Specialising in surveillance and security applications, Asteria Aerospace designs and manufactures UAVs and offers drone-based solutions for various sectors, including defence and industrial inspection.

Garuda Aerospace: Known for its diverse drone applications, Garuda Aerospace has developed drones for purposes ranging from agriculture to disaster management. They have collaborated with organisations like ISRO and have been involved in significant projects, including disaster relief operations.