Hindustan Shipyard Strikes Anti-Drone Deal Amid Naval Security Push

India's state-owned Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) has signed a strategic partnership with Pentagon Rugged Systems India Ltd. to equip naval ships with advanced anti-drone technology as New Delhi ramps up maritime security amid rising threats from unmanned aerial vehicles.

Under the agreement signed on July 5, the two companies will jointly integrate indigenously developed anti-drone systems capable of real-time detection and neutralisation of hostile drones at distances of up to 30 kilometres. The systems use sophisticated jamming across frequencies between 400 MHz and 6 GHz, effectively disabling drones without causing collateral damage.

The partnership also covers the development of secure long-range Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) communication systems, crucial for naval operations in contested maritime environments.

Cmde. Hemant Khatri, Chairman and Managing Director of HSL, described the agreement as "an important step toward achieving greater self-reliance in defence manufacturing," aligned with India's "Atmanirbhar Bharat" initiative.

Pentagon Rugged Systems India Managing Director Dr. Swaminathan Manikandan said the company aims to provide "mission-critical anti-drone solutions" specifically designed for high-risk naval environments.

Trials are scheduled to begin next quarter, with deployment on Indian naval vessels shortly thereafter.