New Delhi: Solar Defence and Aerospace Limited (SDAL) has delivered 450 Nagastra-1R loitering munitions to the Indian Army in a single supply batch, which the company described as the largest such supply to the Army so far.
The Army placed the order under emergency procurement after rigorous trials. Four companies took part in the technical trials, but only SDAL was able to demonstrate all the operational parameters.
This version of the Nagastra was configured to the Army’s specific requirement for short-range operations. It is built for kamikaze attack mode, with the option to abort a mission and recover the munition. The system was evaluated for performance and went through multiple live trials to test how accurately it hits targets.
SDAL is the defence arm of Nagpur-based Solar Industries, which is better known for making explosives and ammunition. The company called the Nagastra-1R a cost-effective, indigenously developed system that does not compromise on accuracy or quality.
Loitering munitions, sometimes called suicide or kamikaze drones, can stay airborne over an area while searching for a target, or waiting for one to be identified, before striking. This gives commanders more flexibility than a conventional shell or missile, which is fired at a fixed point.
The abort-and-recover option in the Nagastra-1R adds to that flexibility, since an operator can call off a strike if the target changes or turns out to be wrong.
The delivery comes at a time of sharp global interest in such weapons. The conflicts involving Iran, the United States and Israel have shown how drones and precision munitions can shape the battlefield, and how affordable systems can engage targets without the expense of high-end missiles.
For the Army, a single batch of 450 units points to a steadier domestic supply chain for weapons it increasingly treats as routine. It also reflects the growing role of Indian private companies in producing arms that were once largely imported.
Several details remain unclear. The company has not disclosed the munition’s range, endurance or warhead type, where the units will be deployed, or the value of the supply order. The Army has not yet commented on the delivery.
