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Nagastra, Harop, ULPGM-V3: Inside India's Lethal Drone Arsenal That's Now Ready for the World

| May 30, 2026, 11:53:51 PM | TOI.in
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India's drone market is racing from $654 million in 2024 to $1.437 billion by 2029 — and the fuel driving this boom is not peacetime ambition. It is war. Operation Sindoor, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the Iran-Israel confrontation have together transformed how India's defence establishment views unmanned systems. The Nagastra-1, deployable from two backpacks, can strike 40 kilometres away. The ULPGM-V3, freshly cleared for mass production after trials in Andhra Pradesh, hunts tanks, helicopters, and enemy drones at 10 kilometres. Bengaluru-built SkyStrikers levelled terror camps. And now Vietnam, the Philippines, Egypt, and the UAE are watching. India's drone ambition is shifting from importer to exporter — from user to manufacturer. But experts warn that assembling imported components is not sovereignty. Real power lies in owning the software, sensors, AI, and supply chains that make a drone truly lethal and truly Indian.

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