India’s stunning strikes at nine terror bases in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) and inside Pakistan’s Punjab on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack had two firsts. One, precision strikes on the other side of the international border (IB) between India and Pakistan since the 1971 war; and two, use of loitering munitions or “kamikaze” drones to destroy the terror infrastructure of the enemy under Operation Sindoor.
The message was loud and clear: no part of the neighbouring country was safe for terrorists henceforth. At the same time, India asserted that the strikes were de-escalatory as precision munitions avoided collateral damage as also Pakistan's military installations.
For precision strikes, the choice of kamikaze drones, that are capable of surveillance and lethal penetration inside enemy territory to seek targets, was tactical and extremely effective in what emerged as the grey zone warfare and the longest air combat in recent history.
On May 8, in a joint press conference by the Ministry of External Affairs, Col Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh showed pictures of the extensively damaged terror sites. Kamikaze drones and missiles carried out the targeted attacks at nine locations in less than 25 minutes beginning 1.05 am on May 7, killing 100 terrorists, the government stated.
Operation Sindoor avenged the killing of 26 people, most of them tourists on the basis of religion, at Baisaran in Pahalgam on April 22 by heavily armed terrorists from across the border. Along with the use of Scalp cruise missiles and HAMMER bombs, the Indian Army deployed indigenously-built SkyStriker suicide drones for precision strikes. The SkyStriker has been developed by Bengaluru-based Alpha Design (ADTL) in collaboration with Israel's Elbit Systems. They are rapidly deployable, have minimal thermal and acoustic signatures, require low maintenance, are mobile and can be operated by just one personnel. In their operational debut, the loitering munitions spelt havoc on their targets and gave India the much-required military heft and psychological edge.
The use of low-cost suicide drones in the four-day combat became the new benchmark for the unconventional war strategy that is precise, cuts time, resources and saves precious human lives. The cost of a drone is one hundredth of a fighter jet that has conventionally been used in legacy warfare. Used in large numbers, drones can potentially overwhelm the adversary’s air defence network and fog its quick response mechanism. These unmanned aerial systems increasingly align with India’s evolving military doctrine, which underscores their use in high-risk operations and highly contested airspace. No wonder, the drone industry is on a high.
Suicide drones are electronically guided, GPS-fitted unmanned aerial vehicles that can cover up to 100 km with a warhead of up to 10 kg that is enough to destroy 8-10 bunkers or a three-storied building. Used for surveillance and strike, they identify the target, penetrate it and blow up, destroying it completely.
Pakistan responded by deploying 300-400 drones sourced from China and Turkiye at 36 locations across the border in their retaliatory ‘Operation Bunyan al-Marsus' (“Structure made of lead” in Arabic), and targeted Indian military bases in their heavy shelling along the LoC between May 8 and 9. India neutralised these drones using its S-400 air defence system acquired from Russia and later deployed Harpy drones against Pakistan.
The Israeli Aerospace Industry-made weaponry featured prominently in Operation Sindoor, one of the most notable of them being the Harop, a suicide drone. The Harpy drones, designed to attack radar systems are optimised for suppression of enemy air defences. They carry high-explosive warheads and can autonomously seek and strike high-value targets. They can operate in deep-strike missions lasting up to eight to nine hours in all-weather conditions, including when the Global Navigation Satellite Systems are denied or in contested battlefields.
The drones made a mockery of the Chinese radar and air defence systems fielded by Pakistan by taking them out and neutralising them. After Pakistan responded with drone attacks against Indian military installations, Indian drones proportionately hit radars of the enemy air defence systems in Lahore airbase as well as in other airbases.
India’s use of drones – Harop, SkyStriker, ALS-50 loitering munition made by Tata Advanced Systems and Nagastra deep strike kamikaze drones made by Solar Industries – gave the country an edge over Pakistan.
“The integration of drone warfare into India’s military doctrine owes its success to years of domestic R&D and policy reform. Since 2021, the ban on imported drones and the launch of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme catalyzed rapid innovation,” the government stated. The PLI scheme for drones and drone components of the Ministry of Civil Aviation was notified on September 30, 2021 with a total incentive of `120 crore spread over three financial years - FY 2021-22 to FY 2023-24. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting added that “the future lies in autonomous drones with AI-driven decision-making, and India is already laying the groundwork.”
Operation Sindoor not only dealt a lethal blow on the adversary, it also showcased India’s expertise in new age technology. “Operation Sindoor emerged as a calibrated military response to an evolving pattern of asymmetric warfare, one that increasingly targets unarmed civilians along with military personnel. The terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam in April 2025 served as a grim reminder of this shift. India’s response was deliberate, precise, and strategic. Without (defence personnel) crossing the Line of Control or the International Border, Indian forces struck terrorist infrastructure and eliminated multiple threats.
"However, beyond tactical brilliance, what stood out was the seamless integration of indigenous hi-tech systems into national defence. Whether in drone warfare, layered air defence, or electronic warfare, Operation Sindoor marks a milestone in India’s journey towards technological self-reliance in military operations,” added the government.
With India’s new-age defence tech and drone start-ups in sharp focus, venture capitalists are also showing growing interest to invest in them. According to data sourced from Tracxn, the total equity funding raised by drone start-ups in India is $414 million. As of now, there are 487 such start-ups in the country, which include ideaForge, Zen Technologies, DroneAcharya, Garuda Aerospace and Marut Drones.
Some of these start-ups are also into defence tech. Tracxn data suggests that there are 136 military tech start-ups in India, including Newspace Research and Technologies, Tata Advanced Systems, among others. The defence tech sector, which was earlier dominated by public sector undertakings (PSUs), is now witnessing the entry of many deep tech and IP-heavy start-ups building hi-tech solutions in areas like AI, drones, robotics, and cybersecurity – all linked to national security.
India had introduced the Drone Rules 2021 to simplify the regulatory landscape and boost its collective vision of accelerating towards self-reliance – ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. Last year, India had inducted around 2,500 drones into its fleet, with the total expenditure ranging from $361.45 million to $421.69 million. Its drone fleet primarily consists of Israeli-made reconnaissance UAVs such as the IAI Searcher and Heron, along with loitering munitions like the Harpy and Harop.
Add to that the strategic US$ 4 billion deal to acquire 31 MQ-9B Predator drones from the US. India's indigenous drones include the Nagastra-1 suicide drone, Rustom-2 medium altitude long endurance drone, and the Archer-NG armed tactical drone that have successfully demonstrated their technological capabilities.