How private firms are arming India's defence forces

Remember the scene in 2009 blockbuster film ‘3 Idiots’ where Ali Fazal’s character Joy Lobo flies his drone around the college campus? The prototype for that quadcopter — symbolising innovation in an environment of rote learning — belonged to three students from IIT Bombay, who are today the founders of IdeaForge, which manufactures drones for defence, mapping and surveillance. “We made our first quadcopter drone in 2004, flew it over Powai lake and won a bunch of competitions. It was all fun and games, but then, 26/11 happened, and we knew the technology could be put to better use,” says Ankit Mehta, who co-founded the startup almost straight out of college. Among its customers are state and central armed police forces. With the Indo-Pak clash, and earlier the Russia-Ukraine war, showing us how well and truly we are in an era where machines go to war, defence startups like IdeaForge, helmed by young entrepreneurs and armed with venture capital funding, are carving a new niche.A growing spaceHarsh Pant, vice-president of studies and foreign policy at think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF), says the trend was seen earlier with communications companies like Elon Musk’s Starlink, and now with drone tech firms. “Drone warfare between two nuclear-armed neighbours really alerts you to the fact that the battlefield today is as much shaped by the private sector as by governments,” he adds. Things began to gain momentum in 2021 when the government relaxed regulations and launched a production-linked incentive scheme for drone makers. That strategy seems to have paid off. The Drone Federation India represents over 550 companies, and the Indian drone market is projected to reach $11 billion by 2030, accounting for 12.2% of the global drone market. While a large chunk of these are used in agriculture and surveillance, geopolitical realities are pushing more companies to the defence segment. mediumhttps://pa.tgsession.com/3sw663_1rkmuflfzqrun/5prkysza?1eqt=2azcwjZhyHcPdpJ tough switch One such example is Chennai-based Garuda Aerospace. When founder Agnishwar Jayaprakash set it up in 2016, the focus was on solutions such as spraying pesticides, solar panel cleaning, and power line inspections. Defence projects only came later. “We started doing projects with the army in 2022, but that was limited to deploying drones to detect landmines in Maoist and other conflict zones,” says Jayaprakash.The switch to defence use wasn’t simple, though. “In industrial or agriculture applications, you’re trying to solve a problem and not to cause damage. There’s a lot more difficulty in defence applications such as getting access to live ammunition to test devices,” he says. IdeaForge’s Mehta says it’s not just about inflicting damage, but also ensuring that the drone will be super-quiet to evade surveillance and be effective in tough terrains. “From freezing temperatures in high altitudes to the searing deserts of Rajasthan, and a vast marine coastline too, India has all sorts of extremes. A large chunk of the revenue, therefore, goes into R&D,” he adds. mediumhttps://pa.tgsession.com/3sw663_1rkmuflfzqrun/5prkysza?1eqt=8mdsln8kNJXbrMRckbtwc long order book cycles, strict regulatory guidelines, and steep investments, Dipesh Gupta, who set up the Delhi-based VEDA Defense Systems in 2015, was focused on the defence sector from the very beginning. The decision was driven by Gupta’s fascination with the armed forces ever since he was a kid. However, a big learning awaited him. “I learnt that intent and patriotism alone aren’t enough in this space. You need deep technical rigour, long-term vision, and the ability to evolve constantly,” he adds. Gupta and his team decided to focus on making fixed-wing drones instead of quadcopters as the former have longer ranges and a greater payload capacity. A breakthrough came in 2021, when it got the best innovation design at the Indian Air Force’s swarm drone challenge. The future flight planThe past few days after the ceasefire have been marked by a flurry of activity, phone calls and rising stock prices of private players in the space. But innovation is key to staying ahead. “Our ability to project the future is crucial,” says Mehta. The startup is now building NETRA 5, a lightweight tactical drone that can withstand signal jamming and GPS denial in case of cyberattacks. VEDA Defense is working on the Interceptor, which is designed to detect, track, and neutralise hostile drones. Garuda is setting up a R&D and testing facility for advanced defence drone design in Chennai. While a push for strategic autonomy has meant efforts towards more indigenisation, multiple media reports have pointed out how most companies still import at least 40% of their components from countries such as the US, South Korea, and China.ORF’s Pant, however, says there has to be some policy clarity. “Of course we want to be atmanirbhar, but that can only happen over a period of time. In the meantime, we need to start leveraging our partnerships. We could see how effective the partnership between Pakistan, China and Turkey has been. It allowed Pakistan to put up a fight,” he points out.