Indian Army Gears Up for Drone Warfare with 20 New 'Shaktibaan' Regiments

To boost its drone warfare capability, the Indian Army is raising 15 to 20 Shaktibaan regiments with swarm drones, loitering munitions and long-range drones, which can strike targets from 5 km to 500 km.

These regiments will function under the Artillery of the Indian Army. The move is part of a substantial force restructuring intended by General Upendra Diwedi, the Army Chief, to prepare the force for contemporary warfare.

The new regiments will bridge the gap in striking targets between 50 km and 500 km. For ranges more than 400–500 km, the Army already fields BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and is initiating the Pinaka multi-barrel rocket system, which has a 120-km range.

To prepare the first Shaktibaan regiments, the Army will shortly issue a tender under an advance procurement process for about 850 loitering munitions accompanied by their launchers. Indian manufacturers will supply the systems under the fast-track route, with deliveries expected in the next two years.

Indian defence firms, for example, Solar Defence and Aerospace, Adani Defence and RapheM will be key contenders for the project, which will be around Rs 2,000 crore.

The Army has already trained over one lakh drone operators and has started equipping its formations with a wide range of drone-based weapons. Together with the Shaktibaan regiments, the Regiment of Artillery will also raise 35 to 40 Divyastra batteries within artillery divisions, each with multiple types of strike-capable drones.

The Infantry is also experiencing parallel modernization by raising Ashmi platoons in every infantry battalion. Furthermore, a new Special Forces unit, Bharav, is created to improve special operations capability at the Corps headquarters level, with each operative trained to launch drones for precision strikes.

Throughout Operation Sindoor, Indian forces widely used loitering munitions, for example, Sky Striker, Nagastra, Harpy and Harop, to target enemy positions and Pakistani military bases following the growth of hostilities by Pakistan.

Source: ANI