India’s journey with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has been remarkable. Ten years ago, drones were early adoption experiments by users. Today, they're saving lives on battlefields, revolutionising farming, helping build cities and rebuilding disaster zones. India went from drone importer to innovation leader faster than anyone predicted. And we're not stopping here. India is building the world's most advanced drone ecosystem – one that will define how unmanned systems work globally.
Government reforms such as iDEX/ADITI, Make-I/II, and prioritisation of IDDM under DAP 2020 have laid a strong foundation, while the recently introduced Defence Procurement Manual (DPM) 2025 streamlines revenue procurement, supports innovation, and provides multi-year order assurances. The question now is how to build on this momentum and move the ecosystem to its next stage of maturity.
That leap will not come by simply scaling what exists. It depends on closer collaboration between OEMs and users, procurement frameworks that reward proven performance, and domestic capability in critical technologies. Without these, today’s momentum risks plateauing before reaching its full potential.
Building Trust Through Co-development
Globally, structured collaboration between UAV manufacturers and end-users has emerged as a best practice, as field feedback often highlights challenges that specifications alone cannot capture. In the US and Europe, joint development frameworks align design with operational needs from the outset, building resilience and trust in mission-critical systems.
India has also made encouraging strides. Initiatives such as iDEX (and ADITI) and the Make-I/Make-II routes allow the armed forces to invite OEMs to test solutions in real terrains and operating conditions. These programs expose manufacturers to harsh mission realities, ensuring platforms are dependable. While some projects take longer due to complexity and industry transition, these experiences yield insights that strengthen collaboration and iterative improvements.
The goal is to create a collaborative framework where end-users and industry progress together. Achieving this requires not just intent, but time to experiment, adapt, and learn from the field. Extended timelines help surface operational and technical challenges, while sustained engagement ensures manufacturers can refine solutions with confidence and users receive systems that are genuinely mission-ready. Recent measures, such as flexible procurement schedules and multi-year support for proven prototypes, reinforce this approach by making collaboration more predictable, iterative, and mission-focused. Over time, this builds trust, strengthens competitiveness, and allows projects to mature fully rather than being curtailed prematurely.
Why Procurement Must Value Outcomes
Specification-based procurement has brought objectivity and consistency to India’s UAV sector. Defining parameters like range, payload, or endurance it ensures all suppliers are judged against the same standards. But specifications are, by nature, narrow – explaining how something should be built, not its ultimate operational objective.
That is where outcome-based models add value. Instead of prescribing a component or design, they emphasise the end result - reliability in contested environments, adaptability when missions change, and ruggedness to withstand operational stresses. Take electronic warfare: in situations of communications or GPS jamming and spoofing, a specification might lock procurement into a single navigation or communications technology, limiting innovation and making systems predictable to adversaries. An outcome-driven approach, however, would frame requirements as “maintain navigation and secure communications under jamming,” allowing multiple solutions — from anti-jam antennas to alternate navigation and GPS-independent autonomy.
Blending outcomes with specifications gives OEMs freedom to innovate while holding them accountable for mission results. It also builds user confidence, encourages continuous improvement, and ensures India’s UAVs prove themselves in the conditions they are meant to serve, not just on paper.
Strengthening the Backbone: Technology, Components, and Supply Chains
While UAV platforms often capture the spotlight, their true capability rests on the building blocks of critical components - processors, sensors, semiconductors, avionics, and more. A resilient domestic ecosystem in these areas is essential to steady growth and to reduce dependence on imported technologies. These core technologies span multiple industries such as electric mobility, consumer electronics, and telecommunications, requiring a national outlook that goes beyond drones. UAVs will benefit as one of several high-value applications.
Government initiatives such as the PLI scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cells and the India Semiconductor Mission drive innovation, skill development, and the design of essential components. The real test, however, is whether these efforts can deliver the specialised, high-reliability parts demanded by defence and aerospace.
Indigenisation, in this sense, should be seen as a roadmap rather than a single milestone. Like autonomy, it progresses in stages - from localisation to deeper ownership of critical components such as semiconductors, advanced sensors, and cell chemistries. Much remains a work in progress. The latest DPM 2025, encouraging start-up, academic, and MSME engagement, supports innovation and collaboration. Strengthening domestic capability across industry and research institutions is key to making India’s UAV ecosystem - and the wider technology domains it connects with – resilient, future-ready, and less exposed to global supply chain shocks.
From Momentum to Maturity
Much has already been achieved. The government has created enabling policies, simplified licensing through reforms, initiatives, and policies. The industry has created jobs, attracted investment, and opened applications across sectors, with academia contributing new energy to UAV design and analytics. This collective progress deserves recognition. But momentum should not be mistaken for maturity. The foundation is strong, yet the superstructure is still being built.
What India needs now is alignment around long-term resilience. That means formalising co-development between OEMs and end-users so trust becomes institutional. It also means giving priority to proven technologies - systems that have already demonstrated reliability - and creating mechanisms for repeat orders and faster procurement cycles, so products that have delivered in the field can mature further through scaling. Equally important is providing long-term visibility, allowing suppliers to invest with confidence, while users maintain continuity and new ideas mature without disrupting readiness.
Another priority is giving the UAV sector the kind of acquisition-scale visibility that has transformed other domains. Initiatives like Project Sudarshan Chakra, integrating surveillance, interception, and counter-attack capabilities across air, land, and sea, and the government’s Rs 70,000 crore push to strengthen domestic shipbuilding, illustrate how clear long-term intent can drive infrastructure, talent, and innovation. A similar clarity for UAVs would unlock global investment and attract top talent.
A Shared Responsibility for the Next Leap
India’s UAV journey so far has been a collective success story, with policymakers, industry, researchers, and end-users all contributing to its success. The opportunity ahead requires acknowledging what remains unfinished and amplifying what works.
Success will be measured not just by the number of drones deployed, but by system reliability in the field, resilient supply chains, and readiness for evolving challenges. Sustained collaboration, outcome-driven procurement, and domestic capability development under frameworks such as DPM 2025 will keep the ecosystem innovative, dependable, and globally competitive.
By keeping these priorities in focus – extended support to co-development programs under Make/iDEX, avoiding premature cancellation due to delays, outcome-based procurement prioritising accelerated or repeat orders for field-proven products, and local technology strength through prioritising IDDM – India can transform its current momentum into enduring leadership in unmanned systems.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publication. |
