New Delhi. 26 August 2022. Last 18 days which saw a major action by Indian Army in the promotion of drone technology have created a platform for this long awaited announcement. Indian Army in collaboration with the Drone Federation of India had launched the ‘Him Drone-a-thon’ programme on 08 August 22. This initiative in line with Atmanirbharta in defence manufacturing is aimed to catalyse and provide focused opportunities to the Indian drone ecosystem to develop path-breaking drone capabilities for meeting requirements of frontline troops.
On the same day Army Design Bureau on behalf of the Indian Army had signed a MoU with the Drone Federation of India to collaboratively work towards promoting research, development, testing and manufacturing of drones, counter-drone and associated technologies that can assist the Indian Army in its operations.
And today exactly 18 days hence ADGPI tweeted that SwarmDrones are being inducted into the Mechanised Forces, duly embracing the niche & disruptive technologies, will provide an edge to Indian Army in meeting future security challenges. It may be recalled that in September 2021 there was a major announcement that a Bengaluru-based startup has bagged a $15-million order to supply 100 units of these swarm drones. Newspace Research and Technologies Private Limited had said to have got the order under Indian Army‘s emergency fast-track procurement rules. The second drone manufacturer is NOIDA based Raphe mPhibr Pvt Ltd.
Army Day Parade of 2021 had attracted maximum eyeballs when Indian Army carried out a live demonstration of Drone Swarming capability using 75 indigenously designed and developed drones which executed an array of Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled simulated offensive missions and close support tasks .
This demonstration was a recognition of the Indian Army’s steady embrace of emerging and disruptive technologies to transform itself from a manpower intensive to a technology enabled force to meet future security challenges. The Indian Army is investing heavily into Artificial Intelligence (AI), Autonomous Weapon Systems, Quantum Technologies, Robotics, Cloud Computing and Algorithm Warfare in order to achieve a convergence between the Army’s warfighting philosophies and military attributes of these technologies.
The Indian Army has undertaken a wide array of technology initiatives in coordination with Dreamers, Startups, MSMEs, Private Sector, Academia, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs). One such project is the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Offensive Drone Operations which has been incubated with an Indian Start Up. This project symbolises the beginning of the Indian Army’s tryst with autonomy in weapon platforms and showcases the Army’s commitment towards merging the cutting edge of digital technologies with its human resource.
As a start point, development in the categories were and are included in logistics/ load carrying Drone for High Altitude Areas, autonomous surveillance/ Search & Rescue Drone and Micro/ Nano Drones for Fighting in Built Up Areas. A swarm drone is a concept where a cluster or clusters of unmanned aerial vehicles or drones are flown together in a contested or hostile airspace, to confuse the radar. A swarm drone can achieve their specific objectives, including targeted strikes or supporting tactical operations. Military applications for UAV swarms are gaining quite a bit of attention in the world today. Nations worldwide are racing to develop working systems of swarm drones for use as intelligence gathering platforms and of course, weapons.
