Indian Army Vision@2047 envisions to “Transform into a modern, agile, adaptive, technology-enabled and self-reliant future ready force, capable to deter and win wars in a multi-domain environment, across the full spectrum of operations to protect our National interests in synergy with other services.” In pursuing this vision, the Indian Army marks 2023-2032 as a ‘Decade of Transformation’ and 2024-25 as ‘Years of Technology Absorption’. The technology infusion includes the initiatives under Aatmanirbharta, induction of niche technologies and handholding of Startups.
One area that has revolutionised warfare and created disruptive effects is drones, particularly swarms of drones. Their application in recent conflicts has been seen as having an asymmetric effect on mission accomplishment at least cost and minimal time. If managed appropriately, drones are a quick, cheap, economy-of-force capability.
Drones: Force Multiplier in Modern War
Drones have the potential to act as key enablers in this transformation by enhancing India’s intelligence capabilities, providing real-time situational awareness, and delivering precision firepower without putting personnel in harm’s way. Drones are cost-effective and economical as shooting down a drone (hardware) does not destroy expensive software. The objective of a ‘Drone Centric Warfare Doctrine’ is to win the precision warfare battle at least cost, and to make sure that you are coming out positive in every aspect, at the resource and money levels.
Lessons from Russia-Ukraine Conflict
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has validated the force multiplication effect of drones on the battlefield, offering valuable lessons for militaries. Ukraine’s innovative use and Russia’s mass employment of drones have highlighted their operational utility in operations.
For India, the conflict provides a clear roadmap: Invest in indigenous drone development, enhance counter-drone systems, and generate capabilities for the evolving dynamics of modern warfare. Ukraine’s ability to modify commercial drones and Russia’s success with systems like the Lancet highlight the importance of domestic innovation. The battlefield became a testing ground for drones across the globe. Ukraine’s use of civilian apps and platforms like Starlink showcases the importance of civil-military fusion. The conflict has also brought forth the effectiveness of swarm and kamikaze drones in operations.
India must invest in AI-driven swarm technologies and loitering munitions for precision strikes. Besides C-DRONE systems must be central to drone-based warfighting with both hard and soft kill capabilities.
The Russia-Ukraine war has validated the force multiplication effect of drones, offering valuable lessons for militaries. Ukraine’s innovative use and Russia’s mass employment of drones have highlighted their operational utility in operations
Desired Capabilities and Technologies
The imperative is to develop robust, technologically advanced drones capable of operating in diverse operational conditions, providing pervasive real-time intelligence, and executing precision strikes. The turnaround distance and endurance will be factors of size, technology, attendant cost, and mission level requirement.
Payload: Drones need to carry modular payloads for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), electronic struggle (EW), and strike missions. They require electro-optical/Infrared (EO/IR) cameras, artificial aperture radar (SAR), signal intelligence (SIGINT) payloads, and precision-guided munitions like laser-guided bombs and air-to-floor missiles. The explosive payload for a strike mission can be shaped charge (CE) or HE (High Explosive) airburst according to target specification.
Real-Time ISR Data Processing: Drones need superior onboard processing technologies to relay real-time ISR data to ground stations or frontline units for decision superiority. This calls for high processing capability for sensor fusion, combining data received from optical, infrared, and radar sensors into a cohesive operational photo.
Autonomous Operation: The Indian Army seeks drones with superior autonomy for operations in GPS-denied environments, reducing the burden on operators and allowing drones to carry out varied missions with minimum human interface. AI-enabled autonomous drones for threat identity, target tracking, and independent decision-making are thus essential.
Swarm Technology: The Indian Army must invest in swarm drones equipped with AI for decentralised decision-making and complex attack strategies. Drone swarms must be capable of saturation attacks and denial missions, where a large number of small drones with suitable payload configurations, functioning in a coordinated and intelligent manner can overwhelm enemy threats.
Stealth Technology: Stealth is a critical feature for drones operating in contested environments, against advanced enemy air defence systems and C-UAS systems. Drones must project a minimal radar cross-section to avoid detection and engagement. Radar-absorbing materials, reduced heat signatures, and low infrared observability are technologies that must find application.
Operation in High Altitudes: India’s operational terrain requires drones capable of operating in high-altitude areas both on the Northern and Eastern borders. They must maintain stability, performance, and communication at such altitudes with rarified air conditions, extreme cold and high wind factors. Turboprop or turbofan engines are one solution to ensure that drones can operate at these altitudes with the requisite payloads.
Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) Control: Drones need robust, secure, and encrypted satellite communication (SATCOM) links to maintain control and relay ISR data back to command centres in a contested operational environment. They should be equipped with Ku-band and Ka-band satellite communication systems for high-bandwidth, long-range communication. Secure, anti-jamming communication links are critical, especially when operating against adversaries with electronic warfare capabilities. Military hardening of software and modules for anti-jamming or spooking is necessary.
Precision Targeting and Weapons Integration: The Army must acquire the capability of drones carrying precision-guided munitions, smart bombs, or loitering munitions. These are critical for precision strikes against enemy infrastructure or forces. The air-to-ground munitions with GPS/INS-based guidance systems for precision strikes need integration. The need to identify a foe from a friend is an area that merits consideration.
India must invest in AI-driven swarm technologies and loitering munitions for precision strikes. Drones need superior onboard processing technologies to relay real-time ISR data to ground stations or frontline units for decision superiority
Electronic Warfare Capability: Drones need to be equipped with electronic warfare suites for jamming enemy communications, radar, and GPS systems, as well as protecting friendly assets from adversary EW attacks. Drones must have the ability to support cyber and electromagnetic operations (CEMO) by conducting electronic warfare (EW), jamming enemy communications, and gathering SIGINT (signals intelligence).
Counter-Drone Systems: Counter-drone technology allows us to detect, track, classify, and mitigate drones and unmanned aerial vehicles threat. India requires the capability of detecting, jamming, and neutralising hostile drones, given our adversary’s drone inventory. Counter-drone technology uses radio frequency (RF) detection and laser-based weaponry to locate, track, and neutralize hostile drones. Swarms also have the potential of a counter-drone system.
VTOL Drones: Operational terrain, infrastructure and operational constraints may limit conventional take-off on runways. Thus Vertical take-off and Landing (VTOL) drones that can be launched and recovered in confined areas, make them ideal for rapid deployment in combat zones.
Return to Base Capability: In case of being impacted by hostile countermeasures and losing control, drones must have inbuilt systems for return to base and be reusable within a short period.
Weather Resistance: Indian drones need to operate in extreme weather conditions, including high winds, snow, and heavy rainfall. They should have rugged designs capable of enduring harsh climates, particularly in high-altitude environments like the Himalayas. Advanced sensors capable of functioning in low-visibility environments, and see-through foliage capability such as radar-based terrain mapping, are essential.
Self-Reliance in Drone Manufacturing: The imperative is for the development of indigenous drones with comparable technology to global systems to create a viable export market for Indian-made UAVs, especially for friendly countries in Asia and Africa. Various initiatives have been taken but much more needs to be done to exploit the start-up potential in this field.
India’s operational terrain requires drones capable of operating in high-altitude areas on the Northern and Eastern borders. They must maintain stability, performance, and communication with rarified air conditions, and extreme cold and high wind factors
Contours of a Drone-Centric Warfare Doctrine
A robust drone-centric warfare doctrine addresses various components such as reconnaissance, target acquisition, electronic warfare, logistics, and combat roles. The foundational principles driving this doctrine must include:
Operational Flexibility: Drones must be integrated into all levels of warfare, from operational intelligence gathering to tactical combat support. Yet the approach must be duel; bottom up, to empower the warfighter and top-down to seamlessly integrate the strategic and operational domains.
Multi-Domain Integration: The doctrine should ensure drone interoperability across air, land, sea, and cyberspace, enabling a seamless connection between all services and domains. Accordingly, they must also proliferate as a multi-domain asset at all levels of conflict.
Technology and Human Synergy: While drones should maximize autonomous capabilities, the doctrine must ensure a close integration between human operators, AI, and autonomous systems to balance decision-making. The final trigger must rest with the man behind the machine.
Scalability and Adaptability: A dynamic approach that allows drones to perform across different operational environments, from counterinsurgency to conventional warfare, deserts to high altitudes, under hostile counter-drone and EW environments with easy adaptability to changing technological landscapes.
Family of Platform Approach: The solutions must rest on the commonality of a platform and a family of drones for plug-and-play as per the required operational mission. The size and configuration (jammers, seekers and shooters) of the swarms and the type of payload must be variable as the mission requirements. This would ease logistic and training requirements besides cost.
Economy of Effort: In an era where time and decision dictate outcomes under a hostile EW environment and shortened OODA cycle, the need is for an integrated approach of sensor-shooter autonomous drones that are survivable and intelligent for mission execution.
Air Space Management and Frequency Management: The proliferation of unmanned aerial systems along with multiple aerial platforms will need careful airspace management, discreet scaling cum utilization authority and frequency spectrum management.
Training and Tactics: The Indian Army must invest in DRONE-specific training programmes and refine tactics to prepare personnel for DRONE-centric warfare. Training should not only focus on drone piloting skills but also on using drone data for decision-making, integrating AI-driven data analytics, and managing swarms under varied conflict situations. They must invest in simulating drone warfare, conducting joint exercises, and adapting their war games to reflect the evolving nature of combat with the inclusion of drones.
Force Structuring: Technologies enable warfare structures to evolve and reorient for smart and lean warfighting. Presently a fair redundancy exists in the present structures to be tweeted without accretions to be adaptable and responsive for optimised drone-centric warfare capability.
Delays in procurement hinder India’s ability to deploy cutting-edge technologies. The present system especially funding and ‘risk sharing-gain-sharing’ is not very conducive for start-ups especially level 2 and nascent aspirers
The Road Ahead
India’s military must accordingly prioritise the integration of drones into its doctrine, operational philosophy, restructuring, training and tactics to gain a competitive edge in future combat environments. India’s armed forces must integrate drones into joint operations, emphasising training and adaptation. Effective use of drones requires a shift in military doctrine, prioritising real-time coordination and autonomous systems.
India faces advanced drone threats from China and Pakistan. China’s Wing Loong and CH-series drones and Pakistan’s use of small UAVs for cross-border operations are ongoing challenges. India must be prepared for swarm and kamikaze drone attacks on strategic assets. Thus C-UAS systems assume importance.
Delays in procurement and sluggish procedures hinder India’s ability to deploy cutting-edge technologies. The present system especially funding and ‘risk sharing-gain-sharing’ is not very conducive for start-ups especially level 2 and nascent aspirers, who end up in the proverbial valley of death with more skeletons than drones. Streamlining these processes and fostering public-private partnerships will be essential. The key lies in enabling Start-Ups the future enablers of drones and swarms.
The author, a PVSM, AVSM, VSM has had an illustrious career spanning nearly four decades. A distinguished Armoured Corps officer, he has served in various prestigious staff and command appointments including Commander Independent Armoured Brigade, ADG PP, GOC Armoured Division and GOC Strike 1. The officer retired as DG Mechanised Forces in December 2017 during which he was the architect to initiate process for reintroduction of Light Tank and Chairman on the study on C5ISR for Indian Army. Subsequently he was Consultant MoD/OFB from 2018 to 2020. He is also a reputed defence analyst, a motivational speaker and prolific writer on matters of military, defence technology and national security. The views expressed are personal and do not necessarily carry the views of Raksha Anirveda
