By Staff Correspondent
Solar Industries Nagpur, a leading explosives and explosive systems manufacturer in India, announced that it has secured an order from the Indian Army to supply its indigenous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the ‘Nagastra.’ The order was won in competition against rival offerings from Israel and Poland, highlighting the advanced technology of the Indian-made drone.
The Nagastra-1, the first indigenous loitering munition (LM) designed and developed by Solar Industries Nagpur subsidiary Economics Explosives Ltd (EEL) in collaboration with Z-Motion, Bangalore, boasts many world-class features. With over 75% indigenous content, the Nagastra-1 has GPS-enabled precision strike accuracy within 2 meters in Kamikaze mode.
The fixed-wing electric UAV has a 60-minute endurance, with a man-in-loop range of 15 km and an autonomous mode range of 30 km. It is equipped with day-night surveillance cameras and a fragmenting warhead, making it a formidable tool against soft-skin targets.
In addition, the Nagastra-1’s abort, recover, and reuse features make it superior to similar systems developed by advanced countries. It can be called back and made to land with a parachute recovery mechanism, enabling it to be reused multiple times. The loitering munition can be controlled remotely or operate autonomously, providing the Indian Army with a powerful, agile drone capable of quickly neutralising hostile threats. The drone has already been showcased at the Army Commanders Conference held in New Delhi, where it was well received.
The development of drone technology has proven to be a force multiplier in modern warfare. As a result, using drones in conflicts worldwide has made their development a top priority for many nations. Solar Industries Nagpur’s efforts to develop a range of weaponised drones to neutralise various targets using gravity drop bombs, guided missiles, or using them in a Kamikaze mode will boost the indigenous capability of using drones/UAVs as war machinery. The Nagastra-1, with its advanced technology and features, is an example of the cutting-edge drone technology that India can produce.
