The techniques of traditional warfare seem to be fast changing. Attack drones are increasingly playing a significant role in military aggression alongside missiles. The 12-day Israel-Iran war and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine battle showed how devastating the role of drones in modern wars is. In one of the most daring attacks, Ukraine said its armed forces used 117 attack drones to target airfields deep inside Russian territory. Ukraine’s “Operation Spider’s Web” run by its officials said the assault required Ukraine to secretly smuggle the drones into Russia over several months. Now, Russia has stepped up its drone production in a big way. Russian government records show that the country’s drone production jumped by 16.9 percent in May compared to the previous month. In April, President Vladimir Putin said over 1.5 million drones of various types were produced last year. Moscow is also developing a new laser-based system to defend against drone attacks.
In the Israel-Iran war, Iran launched around 1,000 drones at Israel during the war, according to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). Those Iranian drones seemed to have done bigger damage to Israel than the missiles. Iran launched some 550 ballistic missiles at Israel during the war. Most of them were intercepted by Israeli and American air defences at an interception rate of around 90 percent. Iran deployed more than 1,050 drones. Of them, 570 had reportedly reached Israeli territory. Almost all of the world’s top military powers, including the United States, Russia, China, Israel, South Korea, the United Kingdom and France, are using their advanced military technology to manufacture more and more attack drones. Surprisingly, India, considered to be the fourth largest military power, is vastly lagging in production of attack drones.
India’s import-happy defence industry seems to have strongly neglected the area of drone manufacturing. According to ‘Warpower: India’ reports, the total number of attack drones with the country is less than five. Although the precise number is not publicly available, it is estimated that the country’s three military services — Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force — collectively operate a fleet of some 179 drones for ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) and attack purposes. This includes platforms like the Searcher series, Heron. Various indigenous drones are under development such as TAPAS-BH-201 (Rustom-2). The fleet of reconnaissance and services drones comprises 87 drones. India’s indigenously developed drone technology mostly attaches importance to drones for reconnaissance and surveillance (ISR/Recon). The country is yet to attach much importance to indigenous manufacturing and acquisition of attack drones.
Lately, India has been designing and developing a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) drone, the TAPAS-BH-201 (Rustom-2), which is a MALE drone for ISR missions. India, the world’s second largest arms importer after Ukraine, seems to prefer imported military-purpose attack drones to domestic manufacturing. It is said to be in the process of acquiring 31 MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones, with 10 each for the three services and one spare. According to Analytics India Magazine, India’s military drone market is projected to grow significantly. The market value is expected to reach $4.082 billion by 2030. It is difficult to understand why the need for indigenous attack drone manufacturing failed to attract the attention of the country’s defence ministry and the government while the major military powers across the world are increasingly emphasising on the development and production of attack drones.
Interestingly, during the last four-day India-Pakistan war, Pakistan had reportedly used as many as 400 drones, acquired mostly from Turkiye. Pakistan is believed to be in possession of a big fleet of drones, with varying roles and capabilities. They include Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) drones, tactical drones for the army and air force, and smaller mini-UAVs. Pakistan has around 60 MALE UAVs. Its Navy operates an equal number of UAVs. The Pakistani Army has roughly 100 tactical UAVs, while its Air Force has around 70.
According to reports, Pakistan deployed 300-400 drones in coordinated attacks against India. One report mentioned the use of “300 to 400 SAR drones,” possibly referring to Turkish-made drones. Another suggests Pakistan may have used 800 to 1000 drones, mostly non-attack drones. Overall, Pakistan’s drone capability is strong. It is being aided by both Turkiye and China. Paradoxically, while India is upset with the Turkish military aid to Pakistan and is against trade and economic cooperation with Turkey, it has remained silent on China, which accounts for over 70 percent of Pakistan’s defence imports including drones.
Pakistan’s drone force consists of both foreign and local solutions. Primary contributions are made by Pakistani defence players as well as its close strategic ally China. It has a quantitative stock of Chinese Wing Loong II attack drones which are fielded alongside the Turkish Anka type. The rest is achieved with general reconnaissance and recon-attack models. China is the world’s second largest manufacturer of attack drones (UCAVs) after the United States. Other major attack drone manufacturers include Israel, Iran and Turkiye. The US has a large and advanced drone fleet, with manufacturers like General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman producing prominent models such as the MQ-9 Reaper.
China has a number of companies manufacturing military drones. Top Chinese attack drone makers include CASC and CAIG offering a range of UCAVs for both domestic use and export. Turkiye has significantly expanded its drone capabilities in recent years, with Baykar Technologies producing the Bayraktar TB2, a widely deployed attack drone. Israel’s Elbit Systems and Rafael Advanced Defence Systems are known for developing and exporting various types of UAVs, including both surveillance and attack models. Iran’s growing presence in the global drone market, with companies like IAIO, is worth noting.
Several Indian companies are currently involved in the design, development, and manufacturing of drones for military applications. They include Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), IdeaForge Technology, Zen Technologies, Paras Defence and Space Technologies, and Adani Defence & Aerospace. Additionally, companies like Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Throttle Aerospace Systems are also contributing to the sector. It is high time that India’s armed forces encourage the domestic defence manufacturers to design and produce high quality combat drones. The government must allocate adequate funds to the three services to acquire attack drones, especially from domestic manufacturers.
The HAL manufactures various types of drones, including the ABHYAS high-speed expendable aerial target. The public sector defence firm is also involved in the development of larger, more advanced unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs). Adani Defence & Aerospace has a collaboration with Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, to produce the Skystriker loitering munition drone. It also produces the Drishti (Hermes 900) surveillance drones. L&T makes various drone-related projects for the Indian armed forces, including surveillance and logistics operations. What India badly needs are attack drones. The country is moderately equipped to manufacture and export high-quality missiles, but severely lacks capability in making high precision attack drones to be fully war-fit. (IPA Service)
