Student-built radar-evading drones from BITS Pilani enter Army service

Two 20-year-old students from BITS Pilani's Hyderabad campus founded Apollyon Dynamics, whose radar-evading drones are now active across multiple Army bases

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Two second-year engineering students from BITS Pilani’s Hyderabad campus have designed and delivered radar-evading kamikaze drones to the Indian Army, according to a report by The Times of India. Their drones are now deployed across multiple operational zones, marking a rare instance of undergraduate-led defence innovation entering active military service.

 

Jayant Khatri, a mechanical engineering student from Ajmer, and Sourya Choudhury, an electrical engineering student from Kolkata, co-founded their start-up Apollyon Dynamics just two months ago. The firm focuses on designing custom unmanned aerial systems (UAS) tailored for India's defence and surveillance needs.

 

Deployed across four states

 

The Indian Army has begun using these indigenously developed drones in units stationed at Jammu, Chandimandir (Haryana), Panagarh (West Bengal), and Arunachal Pradesh. Built using commercially available components, the drones were customised for varied Indian terrain and climatic conditions.

 

The students initially reached out to Army officers via LinkedIn, eventually securing live demonstration opportunities.

 

From cold emails to combat-grade deployment

 

Khatri said he started sending cold emails to Army contacts until a colonel responded and invited them for a demonstration in Chandigarh. The students showcased bomb-dropping and high-speed racing drones, which led to more trials and subsequent procurement orders. These events marked the formal launch of Apollyon Dynamics.

 

300-kmph radar-evading kamikaze drone

 

According to the report, the flagship drone from the start-up is a radar-evading kamikaze UAV capable of reaching speeds over 300 kmph—around five times faster than commercial drones—and delivering payloads of up to 1 kg with high accuracy. In addition to the hardware, the company also offers training programmes to help military personnel with no prior experience become capable drone operators quickly.

 

Choudhury said the drones were not just fast but also undetectable by radar. The duo’s collaboration began in a defence-tech club on campus, fuelled by a shared interest in robotics. With orders coming in, they quickly scaled up operations, bringing in six more students from BITS Pilani.

 

Next-gen drone development underway

 

The start-up is now developing next-generation vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and fixed-wing drone platforms. Their goal is to expand India's indigenous drone capabilities while continuing to deliver agile, cost-effective, and combat-ready UAV systems to the armed forces.