India signs ₹1,577-crore contracts for Army’s loitering munitions, strengthening precision-strike capabilities

By Aroonim Bhuyan

New Delhi. The Ministry of Defence has signed two major contracts worth a combined ₹1,577 crore (($166,153,035) to equip the Indian Army with advanced loitering munitions, commonly known as kamikaze drones, and associated logistics equipment.

The procurement is aimed at strengthening the Army’s precision-strike capabilities, enhancing its ability to engage high-value targets and improving operational effectiveness in modern, technology-intensive warfare, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Defence.

The contracts reflect the growing importance of unmanned aerial systems in India’s military modernisation programme, particularly in the wake of recent conflicts that have demonstrated how relatively inexpensive, remotely operated and autonomous drones can influence battlefield outcomes.

Two contracts with Tata Advanced Systems and NIBE

The agreements were signed in New Delhi on October 30 in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh. The contracts have been awarded to Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and NIBE Private Limited for the supply of loitering munition systems, the munitions themselves and associated accessories.

The procurement has been categorised under the government’s ‘Buy (Indian)’ category and processed through the Fast Track Procedure, reflecting the Army’s requirement for the timely induction of advanced unmanned strike capabilities.

According to reports detailing the procurement, the order covers 84 launch systems and 840 loitering munitions. The contracts have been divided between the two companies following technical evaluation and commercial bidding.

• Tata Advanced Systems will supply 54 launch systems and 540 munitions under a contract valued at approximately ₹1,013.77 crore.
• NIBE Private Limited will supply 30 launch systems and 300 munitions under a contract valued at approximately ₹563.36 crore.

The systems are reported to have a strike range of more than 100 km, giving the Army the ability to engage targets well beyond the immediate battlefield. Reports also indicate that the platforms incorporate measures to withstand electronic jamming and satellite-navigation spoofing, although the Ministry’s public announcement did not disclose detailed technical specifications.

The procurement is particularly significant because it provides the Army with both launch infrastructure and a substantial stock of precision-strike munitions, rather than merely adding individual drones to its existing inventory.

A new dimension to the Army’s artillery capabilities

Loitering munitions, popularly described as kamikaze or suicide drones, occupy an increasingly important position in the spectrum between conventional unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and precision-guided missiles.

Unlike conventional missiles, which are generally programmed to follow a predetermined trajectory towards a designated target, loitering munitions can remain airborne over a specified area while searching for targets. Once a suitable target is identified and authorised for engagement, the drone can dive onto it and destroy itself through an onboard explosive payload.

This combination of surveillance, target acquisition and attack capabilities makes loitering munitions particularly useful against mobile, concealed or time-sensitive targets. They can also provide commanders with greater flexibility to select targets after a weapon has been launched, subject to the system’s guidance and control arrangements.

For artillery formations, their principal advantage lies in extending the reach of precision engagement while reducing the time between identifying an enemy asset and attacking it. They can potentially be employed against enemy artillery positions, command-and-control installations, air-defence systems, logistics concentrations, armoured vehicles and other high-value battlefield assets.

The acquisition is therefore expected to strengthen the Army’s ability to conduct precision strikes against targets at considerable distances, complementing conventional artillery guns, rockets and missile systems.

Supporting Shaktibaan regiments and Divyastra formations

The contracts also fit into the Indian Army’s broader restructuring of its artillery arm to incorporate unmanned aerial platforms and precision-strike technologies.

The Army has been developing specialised drone formations, including Shaktibaan regiments and Divyastra batteries, to integrate unmanned systems into conventional battlefield operations.

The Shaktibaan formations are intended to expand the Army’s offensive and surveillance capabilities through the deployment of different categories of drones, while Divyastra batteries are associated with integrating loitering munitions and other unmanned strike systems into artillery formations.

The induction of the newly contracted systems is expected to strengthen this emerging architecture by providing dedicated launch platforms and ammunition for precision engagements.

The wider objective is to move towards a more integrated artillery structure in which conventional guns, rocket systems, surveillance drones and loitering munitions operate in coordination. Such an arrangement would enable artillery commanders to select the most appropriate weapon for a particular target, based on its location, mobility, importance and the operational circumstances.

The Army’s emphasis on these capabilities has gained momentum as the character of warfare increasingly shifts towards networked operations involving unmanned platforms, electronic warfare, real-time intelligence and precision-guided weapons.

Lessons from contemporary conflicts

The procurement comes against the backdrop of the rapidly expanding use of unmanned combat systems in contemporary conflicts, particularly the Russia-Ukraine war and the wider West Asian theatre.

The battlefield experience of recent years has demonstrated that relatively inexpensive unmanned platforms can inflict considerable damage on high-value military assets, including artillery batteries, armoured vehicles, air-defence installations and logistics infrastructure.

Loitering munitions have emerged as particularly effective weapons because they combine the ability to locate and track targets with the capacity to deliver precision strikes. Their ability to remain airborne while awaiting target identification also offers operational advantages over conventional fire-and-forget weapons.

Another important consideration is their potential effectiveness in environments where electronic warfare is extensively employed. The ability of unmanned platforms to withstand communication interference, GPS jamming and spoofing has become an increasingly important requirement for modern armed forces.

For the Indian Army, which has to maintain operational preparedness along both its western and northern borders, the induction of longer-range loitering munitions is expected to provide additional options for engaging hostile military assets without necessarily exposing manned aircraft or ground troops to direct threats.

The systems will also complement the Army’s expanding inventory of surveillance and reconnaissance drones, enabling a more closely integrated approach to battlefield intelligence and precision engagement.

Boost to indigenous defence manufacturing

The decision to award the contracts to two Indian companies is also significant for the country’s growing private-sector defence manufacturing ecosystem.

The ‘Buy (Indian)’ classification and the use of the ‘Fast Track Procedure’ underline the government’s emphasis on meeting urgent military requirements through domestic industry while reducing dependence on imported defence equipment.

Tata Advanced Systems is a major private-sector defence manufacturer with interests spanning aerospace, land systems, unmanned platforms and defence electronics. NIBE has also been expanding its presence in the defence manufacturing sector, particularly in unmanned systems and associated technologies.

The division of the procurement between the two companies is expected to broaden the domestic manufacturing base, encourage competition and provide opportunities for developing production capacities, maintenance infrastructure and supporting supply chains.

It could also create opportunities for Indian micro, small and medium enterprises involved in electronics, sensors, communications equipment, propulsion systems and other components required for unmanned military platforms.

The contracts are consequently important not only for the Army’s operational requirements but also for the government’s wider ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ (Self-reliant India) initiative in defence production. The Ministry of Defence has described the acquisition as a significant step towards modernising the armed forces and strengthening the capabilities of Indian defence industries.

A shift towards technology-driven warfare

The ₹1,577-crore procurement represents an important step in the Indian Army’s transition towards technology-intensive, network-centric warfare, in which the effectiveness of military formations increasingly depends on their ability to combine surveillance, intelligence gathering, target identification and precision strikes.

The growing deployment of drones is changing the traditional relationship between artillery and battlefield reconnaissance. While conventional artillery relies on a combination of forward observers, surveillance assets and fire-control systems to identify and engage targets, loitering munitions can combine several of these functions within a single unmanned platform.

Their integration into artillery regiments could therefore provide commanders with greater flexibility in responding to rapidly changing battlefield situations, particularly when engaging targets that are mobile or difficult to locate through conventional surveillance methods.

However, the operational effectiveness of these systems will also depend on their integration with the Army’s command-and-control networks, secure communication links, electronic-warfare protection and real-time intelligence infrastructure.

The induction of the new systems, alongside the Army’s other investments in surveillance UAVs, counter-drone platforms and integrated surveillance and strike capabilities, is expected to strengthen this emerging operational framework.

The ₹1,577-crore contracts thus mark more than a routine equipment acquisition. They signal the Indian Army’s determination to make unmanned precision-strike capabilities an integral component of its artillery doctrine and prepare its formations for the changing demands of modern warfare.