India’s defence R&D and industrial landscape is at the cusp of a new era. In a significant declaration, the Ministry of Defence has announced that the year 2025 will be the ‘Year of Reforms’ for the Indian Armed Forces. This initiative aims to revolutionise the country’s defence industry by embarking on the path of creating a technologically advanced edge for our armed forces, keeping them ahead of our adversaries in the highly dynamic and ever-changing arena of global geopolitics.
Meeting the needs of modern warfare and merging high-tech mechanisms in the training process will be a major focus of this new initiative. Technological innovation and versatility will be the key objectives that the Armed Forces seek to meet. Innovation, a virtue earlier believed to be the reserve of scientific institutions, is now being achieved with astute improvisation and cost-effectiveness on the battlefield. And nowhere is this example more prominent, than the multiplicity of purposes fulfilled by drones on and off the battlefield.
Drones have evolved from simple remote-controlled hobby aircraft to highly advanced autonomous machines with a wide array of utility. Advanced yet cost-effective drones serve several purposes – from agriculture to photography, transport, weather assessment, to even lethal military applications. The way drones are utilised has evolved at a great pace, and drones have in the recent past been deployed to devastating effect against armoured vehicles and personnel.
In the Russo-Ukrainian war, simple First Person View (FPV) quadcopter drones equipped with anti-tank mines wreaked havoc amongst Russian Armoured columns in the early stages of the war. Heavy armoured vehicles worth several million dollars are highly vulnerable and have been proven ineffective against drone threats from above. The flexible manoeuvrability of drones coupled with their swarm attack capabilities make them a very effective weapon even against armoured vehicles equipped with Active Protection Systems.
In the second Nagorno Karabakh war, Azerbaijan used Turkish and Israeli drones to their fullest potential with tactical precision strikes on armoured vehicles and personnel totally tipping the scale of the war.
In the Russo-Ukrainian war, simple First Person View (FPV) quadcopter drones equipped with anti-tank mines wreaked havoc amongst Russian Armoured columns in the early stages of the war. Heavy armoured vehicles worth millions of dollars are highly vulnerable and have been proven ineffective against drone threats from above. The flexible manoeuvrability of drones coupled with their swarm attack capabilities make them a very effective weapon
The capability of drones to inflict damage is not restricted to their ability to deliver lethal firepower. Surveillance & Reconnaissance capabilities make them a major threat to the Armed Forces. They can capture images and footage of vital military targets and locations of troops, arms and ammunition depots with relative ease. Yet again, their high manoeuvrability remains a key factor in the equation.
Now, adding up these factors with the fact that India is surrounded by hostile neighbours with whom we have vast and porous borders, the threat faced by our armed forces is indeed immense. Our main adversaries have been ramping up their drone arsenals and have already deployed them for spying, smuggling, and surveillance operations. These drones pose a massive threat to our national security and their growing usage on our borders has increased the complexity of the threat landscape. Even within the country, insurgent groups have also mastered the usage of drones to inflict serious damage on government installations and the command-and-control infrastructure of the state.
The threats posed by drones to our soldiers, security personnel, armoured vehicles, and assets are especially grave and one of the urgent needs of the hour is to equip our Armed Forces with robust and cost-effective anti-drone defence systems. The Big Bang Boom Solutions (BBBS), founded in 2018, has risen to the challenge and has developed long, medium, and short-range anti-drone defence systems to secure our Armed Forces personnel, Armoured vehicles, and Military assets against the threat posed by drones.
The company has a strong and consistently proven track record of providing state-of-the-art solutions to cater to the needs of the Indian armed forces. The intensity and prowess of the company’s R&D have won it many laurels, including 5 iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) challenges, the most prominent of which is the development of the Anti-Drone Defence System i.e., the Vajra Sentinel System.
The Big Bang Boom Solutions (BBBS) has developed long, medium, and short-range anti-drone defence systems, the most prominent of which is the Vajra Sentinel System, to secure our military. The Vajra Sentinel System is a perfect defensive shield against drone threats. For the protection of Armed Force personnel, the company has developed a lightweight hand-held jammer and portable detector, together known as the Vajra Super Shot
Comprehensive and multi-directional drone detection makes it effective against waves of swarm drone attacks. Frequent library updates and a wide range of detection frequencies enable it to counter 99% of the COTS drones deployed and used globally. The user-friendly nature of the system enables quicker integration into the arsenal of the Armed Forces. These features coupled with its cost-effectiveness make the Vajra Sentinel System a perfect defensive shield against drone threats. In light of the growing trend of attacks on military personnel and armoured vehicles being carried out by drones, the company has taken massive strides to develop strong anti-drone defence systems.
For the protection of Armed Forces personnel, the company has developed a lightweight hand-held jammer and portable detector, together known as the ‘Vajra Super Shot’. This lightweight and portable detector enables troops to receive warnings about drone threats up to 4 km and it provides personnel with detailed information on the drone threat including the make and brand of the drone, as well as information on the frequencies on which the drones are flying. The lightweight and ruggedised design of this detector, along with a 4-hour battery life enables the troops to protect themselves against drone threats even when far away from power sources.
Once the drone is detected, the handheld jammer’s easy one-touch functionality and wideband jamming capabilities allow troops to neutralise a wide variety of drones at a comfortable distance of 2 km. This wide bandwidth along with the sheer precision allows for minimal collateral interference with other equipment. The handheld jammer also has a unique software-defined functionality feature which allows the jammer to counter drones flying even on non-standard frequencies, making it a versatile and portable anti-drone protection system for our troops.
For Armoured Fighting Vehicles, the Indian Armed Forces have the Yudhikshna – a 360-degree situational awareness system with high-resolution day/night camera systems that can detect drones in the vicinity of the Armoured Vehicles. Strategically placed cameras give the crew a 360-degree view of their surroundings thus allowing them to be prepared for even multi-directional assault by the adversaries
For Armoured Fighting Vehicles, we have the Yudhikshna – a 360-degree situational awareness system with high-resolution day/night camera systems that can detect drones in the vicinity of the Armoured Vehicles. Strategically placed cameras give the crew a 360-degree view of their surroundings thus allowing them to be prepared for even multi-directional assault by the adversaries. It supplies the crew with real-time video feed and advanced AI capabilities that provide an acute target identification mechanism.
Thermal imaging capabilities enable operations during day or night as well as in adverse weather conditions, thus giving the operator a massive advantage over adversaries. In addition to the vision-based Situational Awareness System, Armoured Vehicles can be equipped with the BBBS’ mounted RF detectors and jamming systems that allow for detection of drone signals and RF jamming of drone remote control and GPS signals. The mounted Anti-drone Defence System creates a virtual no-fly zone making Armoured Vehicles impermeable to drone threats.
A blend of technical innovation, precision, troop comfort, and the zeal and deep desire to contribute to our national security led to the genesis of the Vajra Sentinel Anti-Drone Defence Systems. These comprehensive and dynamic drone detection systems protect our troops, armoured vehicles, as well as our military assets in the face of the ever-evolving threat posed by drones. Big Bang Boom Solutions takes immense pride in contributing in a small but significant step towards realising the Prime Minister’s goal of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and in contributing towards the development of Deep Tech products for the Indian Defence Sector.
-The writer is Founder and CTO of Big Bang Boom Solutions Pvt. Ltd
