iCreate Drone Challenge: Enhancing India’s Indigenous Drone Innovation and Manufacturing
Bringing together India’s best drone innovators for a Prototype Acceleration Programme, Ahmedabad, on 20 January 2026, iCreate, India’s leading de
An advanced version of the Nagastra drone, extensively used during Operation Sindoor, has been developed. The Nagpur-based Solar Defence and Aerospace Plant, which developed Nagastra, has also developed ‘Bhargavastra’, a micro-missile-based system, and conducted a successful test launch.
The government is focusing on ensuring that the private sector’s contribution to defence manufacturing reaches 50% or more in the near future.
The Nagastra drone advanced by this group was successfully deployed. This drone struck those who harboured ill intentions towards our country. Nagastra-1 is a suicide drone, made for searching and destroying any target by crashing into it. Bhargavastra, instead, is India's first indigenous, low-cost counter-drone system, developed to neutralize hostile drone swarms using micro-rockets and guided micro-missiles, featuring radar detection up to 6 km and engagement up to 2.5 km.
The new facility is a fully automated plant manufacturing 30mm ammunition, which the Indian Army and Navy extensively use. Rajnath also visited the Pinaka rocket manufacturing facility and flagged off the first tranche of guided Pinaka rockets bound for Armenia.
Operation Sindoor lasted for around 88 hours, but the intensity of those 88 hours couldn’t be described in words. In such operations, every minute, every decision and every resource is vital. Today, there are various kinds of wars. Warfare is becoming increasingly complex and intense. In such a situation, preparation for war is crucial.
There was a time when ammunition shortages hampered India’s defence readiness, prompting the government to realize the need to become self-reliant. Commending the contribution of private enterprises in making the defence sector ‘Aatmanirbhar’, the nation is steadily marching forward in ammunition production, manufacturing quality and the production of dependable products. “In such a situation, increased participation of the private sector in manufacturing and R&D is the need of the hour.
Source: Times of India
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