TwitterWhatsAppTelegramEmail India is undertaking the transformations in its modern military, shifting from a traditional manpower intensive defence posture to a technology-led, drone-centric battlefield strategy. Driven by hard lessons learned from Operation Sindoor in May 2025 and reinforced by careful study of drone warfare in other theatres, the Indian armed forces are restructuring around the principle of mass, affordability and networked intelligence.

Operation Sindoor, conducted on 7 and 8 May 2025 in direct response to the Pahalgam terror attack, marked India’s first large-scale non-contact war. For four days along the western frontier, Pakistani forces deployed multiple waves of drones from Leh to Sir Creek, many of them relatively simple platforms designed to exhaust Indian air-defence systems by drawing fire away from more sophisticated assets. Indian forces successfully neutralised hundreds of enemy drones and missiles through an integrated air defence shield, and loitering munitions were used to destroy high-value targets, including enemy radar and missile systems. The Indian Air Force bypassed and jammed Pakistan’s Chinese-supplied air defence systems, completing its missions in as little as 23 minutes in certain sorties.

According to a report by the Indian Defence Research Wing, Pakistani swarms overwhelmed Indian air defences in certain sectors, jamming GPS signals across a 150-kilometre radius. An estimated 60% to 70% of the critical components in India-owned drones, including motors, sensors and batteries, were sourced from China, highlighting a dangerous strategic dependency. The operation confirmed a global trend that cheap, attainable drones fielded in mass can create disproportionate pressure on expensive, limited-inventory defence systems.

In direct response, Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi unveiled an ambitious restructuring blueprint targeting 8,000 to 10,000 drones per corps across the Indian Army. The plan fundamentally reimagines military formations from the battalion level upward. Traditional infantry units will now embed dedicated drone platoons of 30 to 70 personnel trained in swarm operations and loitering munitions. The Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers will gain drone repair sections capable of on-site fixes and terrain mapping, while utility UAVs will enable resupply drops to forward posts in high-altitude theatres like Ladakh.

Several new specialised formations are being raised alongside this restructuring. Bhairav Light Commando Battalions, each 250-strong, will blend elite raiding capacity with drone overwatch. Rudra Brigades will fuse mechanised infantry, special forces, artillery and UAVs for multi-domain operations. Divyastra Batteries in artillery regiments will pair kamikaze drone swarms with conventional howitzers for deep strikes, while Shaktibaan units will function as dedicated drone strike outfits. The target for achieving near-universal soldier training in drone operations has been set for 2027, according to reporting by Indian Masterminds and Indian Defence News.

The Indian Air Force is pursuing a complementary but distinct vision for drone swarms. In April 2026, the IAF launched the third edition of the Mehar Baba Competition (MBC-3), with the theme of Collaborative Drone-Based Surveillance Radars. The aim is to develop a proof-of-concept for a swarm of unmanned aerial systems functioning collectively as an airborne radar network capable of detecting, tracking and reporting aerial targets in contested environments.