Indian Army plans 30 drone types to counter evolving battlefield threats in future warfare scenarios; check full list
The roadmap was released by Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh, Deputy Chief of Army Staff (CD&S). It is aimed at providing clarity on future requirements to industry, academia and the research and development ecosystem, while driving indigenous innovation in line with the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative, officials said.
According to the Army, the document lays out requirements across 30 types of unmanned aerial systems and loitering munitions, spanning surveillance, strike, air defence support, special roles and logistics applications. The framework is expected to generate nearly 80 variants depending on terrain and operational needs.
Officials said the roadmap includes details such as system specifications, expected life cycles, approximate quantities and variant configurations to help guide future development and procurement.
Categories of drones and loitering munitions
Surveillance systems
• High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE)
• Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE)
• High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS)
• Medium Altitude Persistent Surveillance System (MAPSS)
• Unmanned aerial systems for long-range surveillance
• Unmanned aerial systems for medium-range surveillance
• Unmanned aerial systems for short-range surveillance
• Tethered drones for surveillance
Loitering munitions
• Long-range loitering munition
• Medium-range loitering munition
• Short-range loitering munition
• Swarm drones (surveillance and strike roles)
• FPV drones with strike capability
• Low-cost loitering munition
Air defence role systems
• Drone-on-drone systems
• Drones for anti-swarm roles
• Aircraft/helicopter emulator systems (UALS)
Special role systems
• Mother–child configuration UAS
• Hunter–killer configuration UAS
• MUM-T systems for helicopters and armoured fighting vehicles
• Weapon-mounted UAS
• UAS for survey roles
• Mine-dispensing UAS
• Swarm drones as smart mines
• UAS-based jammers
• UAS for data relay
• Nano drones
• Munition delivery systems (guided and unguided bombs, ULPGMs)
Logistics systems
• Logistic UAS / UALS
• Long-range logistic haulers
The Army said the roadmap is intended to strengthen collaboration with domestic industry players such as the Drone Federation India and the Army Design Bureau, while accelerating the development of next-generation unmanned systems for future warfare.
