Drones In India

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said India will soon create a comprehensive anti-drone unit to secure its borders as the "menace" of unmanned aerial vehicles is going to get serious in the coming days. Addressing BSF troops at the 60th Raising Day event of the force here at its training camp, about 300 km from the India-Pakistan border, Shah said the initial results of a "laser equipped anti-drone gun-mounted" mechanism have been encouraging. This has led to an increase in drone neutralisation and detection cases, up from 3 per cent to 55 per cent, along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab, he said. "The drone menace is going to get more serious in the coming days... We are tackling this issue with a 'whole of government' approach with the defence and research organisations and the DRDO joining hands. "We are going to create a comprehensive anti-drone unit for the country in the coming time," Shah said. According to official data, more than 260 drones have been downed or .

Adani Defence and Aerospace has delivered a second Drishti-10 Starliner surveillance drone to the Indian Navy, boosting India's maritime forces' capabilities to monitor shipping lines and mitigate piracy risks. Following the handover of the first Drishti-10 to the Indian Navy earlier this year, the induction of the second unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), a version of the Israel's Hermes 900 medium-altitude long-endurance UAV, into naval maritime operations was initiated at Porbandar in Gujarat, sources aware of the matter said. Drishti 10 Starliner drone, manufactured by Adani Defence and Aerospace, a part of the conglomerate helmed by billionaire Gautam Adani, at its Hyderabad facility, is an advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platform with 36 hours endurance and 450 kg payload capacity. The only all-weather military platform, with NATO's STANAG 4671 (standardized agreement 4671) certification for the UAV system's airworthiness, is cleared to fly in both .

The ePlane Company is targeting commercial cargo operations in 2025 and passenger flying taxis by 2026

AVPL International on Tuesday said it will set up a drone manufacturing facility in Bihar with an investment of Rs 15 crore. The new facility, which will be set up in an area of 16,000 sq ft in the Bihta Industrial Area, will have the capacity to produce up to 24,000 drones annually, the company said in a statement. "This project is more than just a manufacturing facility. It's a step towards empowering local communities, capacity building and fostering drone entrepreneurship," AVPL International Founder and Managing Director Preet Sandhuu said in a statement. The manufacturing facility is likely to generate employment opportunities for around 10,000 youth, including 200 in-house employees, the company added. Founded in 2016, AVPL International has expanded its reach to over 12 states and established over 70 skill and incubation hubs.

ideaForge has the largest operational deployment of indigenous UAVs across India, with an ideaForge-manufactured drone taking off every five minutes on average for surveillance and mapping

Union Minister of Civil Aviation K Ram Mohan Naidu on Tuesday said India has totally banned the import of drones to encourage local talent to manufacture them. Addressing the two-day national drone summit at Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh, the Civil Aviation Minister noted that the government banned drone imports as it does not want some other country or company to benefit at the cost of India. We have banned the total import of drones, why did we do it? We want to encourage more startups to come in this drone sector. We want the people of this country to manufacture drones. We don't want to import drones and let the benefit go to some other country or some other company, said Naidu. According to the union minister, the government wants the young and bright minds of the country to develop new types of drones to cater to solutions which are indigenous to the country, so, with that mindset we banned imports'. The aviation minister highlighted that the Centre has liberalised rules for th

The defence ministry and General Atomics Global India also signed a contract for performance-based logistics for the drones through depot-level maintenance, repair and overhaul in India

As part of the deal, India and the US have also agreed to set up a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility for the 31 MQ-9B Predator armed drones in the country

Quality Council of India (QCI) has given provisional approval to National Test House (NTH), Ghaziabad, as a certification body for drones. NTH, Ghaziabad has been "provisionally approved by the Quality Council of India (QCI) as a certification body for type certification of drones", an official statement said on Tuesday. This is as part of the certification scheme for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). This significant milestone aligns with the Government of India's push towards fostering a robust and globally competitive drone ecosystem under the Drone Rules 2021. In line with this responsibility, a team of auditors from NTH will visit Vimaana Aerospace Technologies, Noida, from 11th to 12th September 2024 for conducting a Stage-2 (onsite) assessment. "The purpose of this audit is to evaluate their D1 application for Krishiraj 1.0, an agricultural drone model designed to meet the specific needs of the farming sector," the statement said. This assessment is a crucial step towards .

An 'appropriate methodology' with the necessary technical evaluation criteria is being devised to prevent the inclusion of Chinese parts and electronics in these drones

The indigenous bomber drone's successful launch comes after setbacks with international suppliers, including Turkey's refusal to sell the Bayraktar UAV and a delay in the US Predator drone deal

India is fast-tracking negotiations to acquire 31 weaponised MQ-9B 'hunter-killer' remotely-piloted drones from the US as China has ramped up its supply of armed drones to Pakistan

The Border Security Force has intercepted 125 drones this year along Punjab's border with Pakistan, marking a notable rise from 22 drones intercepted in 2022 and 107 in 2023

By 2027, drones will handle approximately 30% of all quick commerce deliveries in major cities

Skye Air CEO Ankit Kumar stated that drones are revolutionising urban logistics by offering swift, eco-friendly, and precise delivery services

Skye Air, a drone logistics solution provider, on Monday said it has secured USD 4 million (about Rs 34 crore) funding, which will be used to expand the company's operations across Gurugram and other cities for healthcare, and quick-commerce deliveries. The Series A funding was achieved with backing from Mount Judi Ventures, Chiratae Ventures, Venture Catalyst, Windrose Capital, and Tremis Capital. Faad Capital, Misfits Capital, Hyderabad Angels, Soonicorn Ventures and other existing investors, family offices and angels also participated in the funding round. "The fresh capital will help the company expand its last-mile network across Gurugram and other cities for healthcare, e-commerce, and quick-commerce deliveries," said Ankit Kumar, Founder & CEO of Skye Air. He further said that with the Modi 3.0 government at the centre stage, the company envisages a plethora of growth coming in the Indian drone sector, which will make Bharat a global drone hub by 2030. Maple Capital ...

The army ordered these drones using its emergency procurement powers, and they were delivered within a year to address urgent needs along the Pakistan and China borders

Notably, this is the third Chinese drone that the security forces have recovered in the district since last week

Marut Drones on Thursday said it has tied up with cooperative fertiliser major IFFCO to undertake drone spray operations in five lakh acres of farmland in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Under the terms of the agreement, Marut Drones will be employing state-of-the-art drone technology to administer a range of agricultural inputs developed by IFFCO agri-products, an official statement said. This initiative aims to optimise crop yields while minimising environmental impact, ultimately contributing to sustainable agricultural practices. Marut Drones co-founder and CEO Prem Kumar said: "The utilisation of drones addresses labour shortages by completing tasks in a fraction of the time it would take manually, significantly enhancing operational efficiency". By providing drones as a service for farmers, this collaboration empowers local communities and fosters self-employment opportunities, the company said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually hand over 1,000 drones, including 200 drones supplied by Coromandel International, to the members of various SHGs