It is the era of drones. The cutting-edge breakthroughs in drone technologies are simply the most important tech development, cutting across Military-Civil Technology Fusion (MCTF). Now, the leading militaries are rushing to redefine the capability architecture and reshape the military doctrines.

It is estimated that in India, the drones (UAVs, Unmanned Aerial Systems and Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) industry will be a ₹5,000-crore sector by 2026. Presently, there are 270 drone start-ups in India and the country will become a global drone hub by 2030. The Indian drone industry led by startups and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) is growing in sheer numbers. Interestingly, drone startups dominate the overall defence startups in India in terms of number of entities.

The drone industry in India is expected to grow into a ₹5,000-crore sector by 2026, with the country aiming to become a global drone hub by 2030.

However, very few have the requisite technologies to match the rigour of qualitative requirements set out by the armed forces. So largely, at this stage, it is about the potential to outperform other sectors and transform into an innovation and Intellectual Property (IP)--led high-technology high-value industry.

There is no doubt that the policy reforms by the government in the civil drone sector are timely, comprising the civil drone rules-2021; Digital Sky Platform, Kisan Drone Scheme, Namo Drone Didi, Production Linked Incentive (PLI), etc. Along with its employment in the Svamitva scheme, agriculture, medical surveys, and other sectors had a significant impact on its expeditious adoption since 2021.

However, the absence of a nodal ministry for drone technology, lack of a drone atmanirbharta policy, Research and Development (R&D) structures and import dependence on critical components, are barriers to India's global drone hub mission. The absence of initiatives for the development and validation of emerging drone technologies such as remote tracking, detect and avoid systems, Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM), Urban Air Mobility (UAM) etc, are immediate challenges in the integration of drones into the Indian airspace.

While India's drone startups dominate the defence sector in terms of numbers, few have the advanced technologies required to meet the armed forces' qualitative standards

In the defence UAV sector, DRDO has been carrying the baton with Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX), Mehar Baba Competition and other initiatives, playing critical roles in the Indigenous development of logistics supply, loitering, ISR and swarm drones.

The existing capabilities

Largely, the drone manufacturers/integrators in the civilian space continue to rely on global partners for critical components such as semi-conductors, motors, actuators, communication systems, data links, data storage, Ground Control Stations (GCS), magnets, software, miniaturised sensors and payloads. In fact, in the process, some of the Indian drone manufacturers were recently banned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for procuring parts from China which was a blatant disregard of the MoD's clear message on this. This directive specifically highlights companies like Dhaksha Unmanned Systems, Sky Industries, and Garuda Aerospace, which have been supplying drones to the Indian Defence Forces. However, this raises concerns for sourcing and challenges as China is highly embedded in as much as 60 to 70 per cent of goods in the supply chain according to a report.

In defence, certainly, it begins with DRDO's role in drone development. The DRDO has been at the forefront of India's military drone initiatives. Over the past few years, it has focused on creating advanced UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) that cater to various operational needs—from surveillance and reconnaissance to combat and logistics support. Notable projects include the Rustom Series (Short Range Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (SRUAV). The Rustom-1 and Rustom-2 drones based on TB-2 class, have been designed for long-endurance missions, featuring advanced sensors and payload capabilities that make them suitable for intelligence gathering and target acquisition. While it does have a proven manned aircraft and engine, it is still short of full operational mode.

Challenges for India's drone industry include the absence of a nodal ministry, reliance on imported critical components, and the need for initiatives to develop emerging technologies such as Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) and Urban Air Mobility (UAM)

DRDO is also developing loitering munitions, commonly referred to as "kamikaze drones," that can strike high-value targets with precision, providing the armed forces with enhanced tactical options.

In defence, it almost remains at the edge with the flight trials of Nishant, Panchi, Rustom-1, Tapas, Stealth Wing Flying Testbed (SWIFT) and the display of the mock Combat Air Teaming System (CATS), demonstrated the capability of Indian public sector entities to design and develop large Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). These UAVs are Military Civil Technology Fusion (MCTF) and have several indigenous sub-systems; however, the induction of large UAVs into service has been a challenge. These challenges need examination and corrective measures instituted to overcome them.

The Indian MoCA unlike the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) does not take the lead in developing civil UAVs and enabling technologies to facilitate the integration of drones into Indian airspace. The civil UAV technology development ecosystems comprising R&D initiatives, testing facilities, standards formulation and standardisation, create challenges in Indigenous development and certification of innovative UAV technologies and their export in the global market.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been leading India's defence UAV sector, with significant projects like the Rustom series and loitering munitions, though operationalisation remains a challenge

India's leading expert on drone systems, former Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter pilot, qualified Flight Safety and Accident Investigator, Group Captain Rajiv Kumar Narang points out the gaps in civil space that DGCA does not certify UAV components, software, sensors, payloads, etc. as there is no policy, procedures, or standards for their certification.

India to be a drone hub: Challenges to overcome

Here, the key issue is how to speed up the indigenous process –component-wise. So, as elaborated, it requires greater cohesive efforts from all stakeholders to bring about the operational efficiency for Rustom-1 and Tapas MALE UAV development programmes through a robust plan and mission. "The funding, approvals and timelines of High-Altitude Long Endurance (HALE), Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAV), Combat Aerial Teaming Systems (CATS) and futuristic unmanned technologies need to be finalised," Narang reiterates.

Operationalisation and Induction Challenge

It is about achieving greater autonomy with precision which is largely operational in the area of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) while combat capability is also on the horizon.

• Artificial Intelligence: AI is increasingly being integrated into drone systems for enhanced navigation, obstacle avoidance, and autonomous decision-making.
• Swarm Technology: The development of drone swarms is on the rise, allowing multiple drones to operate in coordination for missions like surveillance and reconnaissance.
• Hybrid Platforms: New designs are focusing on hybrid systems that combine various capabilities, such as vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) with fixed-wing efficiency, offering versatility in deployment.

The biggest challenge of most of the indigenous defence UAV development programmes has been the uncertainty about their operationalisation and induction. It is important that the challenges of Indigenous defence UAVs are identified and addressed as per the key outcome and areas which one must focus on to spur growth as the ecosystems work their way in value chains.

Another important factor to be considered is the faster induction of indigenously designed products, which needs to be prioritised to ensure that these technologies are preserved. For many new private players, including some of the hi-tech propositions from the industry and research labs from the leading academia, "the challenges of funding Indigenous UAV development programmes or their non-induction leads to discontinuation and incentivisation of the development, refinement and upgrade of not only UAVs but also critical subsystems, sensors, payloads, etc. that are crucial for atmanirbharta and establishing a foothold in the global market," as he put forth in his holistic assessment. During the development of Indigenous sub-systems for Tapas, several Indigenous technologies, sensors, payloads, software and components were developed by the DRDO. The progressive part is despite delays in the outcome, where the Tapas programme was taken off the mission mode, IAF and the Indian Navy did place an order of six Tapas UAVs this year itself. That is a big boost and encouragement in such a situation.

Technology Collaborations with Global Partners

So far, it is pertinent that technologies have a global supply chain ecosystem. In fact, it will be important to note that the quest for self-reliance does not mean that we do not collaborate with global tech innovators. Rather, the quest for self-reliance opens the door to embracing higher tech which is unavailable in India. The parallel thrust remains that one must be 'Make in India' which is the objective towards indigenisation.

For example, India and the US launched the Indo-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (ICET) and the Indo-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X)123 in 2023. Indian companies are establishing similar technology collaborations with other countries. However, these collaborations have the following limitations -

1. There are collaborations between Indian defence companies and defence forces of foreign collaboration partners while there are no technology collaborations between Indian defence forces and the global partner companies.
2. Indian companies collaborating with global partners and OEMs predominantly focus on assembling and low-value manufacturing in India. So, there are very few joint development projects between Indian entities and global partners and OEMs aimed at joint IP creation.

One of the key points is the difference in terms of other industries which are into mass market productions, i.e., Automobiles and Information Technology (IT). India would have to follow a different trajectory from the one being followed in these two leading industries.

The way out is important which is broadly in addressing the gaining of the "missing Indigenous components" while leveraging the global innovators to have robust IPs. The Indian UAV industry led by start-ups and MSMEs has the potential to change this trajectory and become an innovation and IP-led globally competitive industry.

The transformation of the Indian industry from license manufacturing to an IP-led industry would require the creation of mechanisms to validate claims of indigenous development and IP creation. "The Indian companies can follow the following approaches: (a) Indian companies indigenously developing drones and sub-systems. (b) Indian entities – both public and private – obtain ToT from global OEMs and claim high IC under 'Make in India'. (c) A few Indian public and private sector companies pursuing Joint development with global OEMs," Narang puts forth his suggestions.

Lastly, what is the crucial thread which remains missing despite the many initiatives at the regulatory level, is to create and set up the R&D structures in defence forces. In a nutshell, the key is to continue the reforms in defence UAV development programmes, formulate 'Indigenous Content (IC) certification' and 'archiving of Indigenous design' policies, introduce a Development Production and User Partnership (DPU) Scheme, and enhance public-private and private-private partnerships.

 

Manish Kumar Jha is a Consulting & Contributing Editor for SP's Aviation, SP's Land Forces and SP's Naval Forces and a security expert. He writes on national security, military technology, strategic affairs & policies.