Defence, drone startups roll up sleeves to boost production

Homegrown defence and drone startups are seeing a surge in demand as the conflict with Pakistan spurs the Indian military to further bolster its arsenal.

Startups believe that India has the capability, but stressed that it needs to achieve scale by activating robust and reliable homegrown manufacturing and engineering capabilities instead of only relying on foreign suppliers.

Industry experts pointed to Israel developing advanced defence technologies arising from necessity due to conflicts, later benefiting from large export orders. India hasn’t faced the same urgency so far, but stakeholders need to collaborate when the country’s sovereignty is threatened, they emphasised.


“Capacities cannot be built in a day. During peacetime, people do realise the importance of building a military-industrial complex, but it often comes too late. Warfare has changed, and technology is now absolutely critical,” said Vishal Saxena, vice president at ideaForge Technology, a drone manufacturer. He added that during critical times, relying on foreign technology is a vulnerability in today’s battlefield.

Ideaforge’s drone solutions--built for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission--have been deployed in ‘Operation Sindoor’. The startup has an on ground team to make any upgrades and support the military during the conflict.

Industry stakeholders highlighted that the current geopolitical scenario has brought to fore the inefficiencies of relying on expensive missiles to defend against low-cost drone threats.

“The unit economics of using a ₹2.5 crore missile to take down a ₹25,000 drone don’t work. Our counter-drone technology aims to bring down the cost to below ₹10 lakh, by using drones to take down other drones instead of using missiles," said Santosh Balajee Banisetty, founder of Zebu Intelligence Systems. He added that the startup has received a defence ministry contract for this project, and that the product will be delivered in the next 3-6 months.

Experts say identifying five core manufacturers and aligning them with upstream suppliers can aid in addressing capacity issues. Banks also need to provide working capital through confirmed orders, they suggest.

Prof Satya Chakravarthy, who teaches aerospace engineering at IIT Madras, and founded The ePlane Company—a maker of eVOLT all-electric air taxi and drones—said since the conflict erupted, he has received multiple inquiries from current and ex-defence personnel as well as defence-linked companies.

“I got an inquiry for drone boats. Initially, I thought it was a ground robot, but they clarified it’s a surface drone that runs on water. So, the momentum is not limited to aerial drones; it’s across the defence innovation spectrum,” Chakravarthy said.

Deeptech defence tech startup, Big Bang Boom Solution’s cofounder and chief technology officer Shivaraman Ramaswamy said the company is boosting production capabilities to meet increased demand for counter-drone systems that were also deployed during ‘Operation Sindoor’. The startup, an iDex initiative winner, is also in the final stages of evaluating a ‘360 Active Battle Interface’—also known as the ‘See Through Armour’ (STA).

Bengaluru-based semiconductor startup AGNIT, which is looking to develop gallium nitride (GaN)-based transmitters, got several requests to accelerate development and production. “These are useful in two primary areas—onboard drones to transmit information like surveillance video back to the base, and in jammers used as countermeasures to disable hostile drones,” explained cofounder Hareesh Chandrasekar.

The startup, along with private companies, also signed an MoU with the defence ministry to develop these transmitters. Chandrasekar emphasised that it's crucial to have a secure and reliable local supply chain for high-performance semiconductor components. “Indigenous development and supply diversification are essential, especially during conflict situations,” he said.

(With inputs from Swathi Moorthy)