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The Indian Army has received two new indigenous combat systems under Emergency Procurement (EP-6), including the UAV-Launched Precision Guided Munition (ULPGM) and the AGNIKAA VTOL-1 First-Person View (FPV) Kamikaze Drone.Defence sources said that the systems were handed over in Hyderabad in the presence of officials from the Army's Western Command following successful high-altitude, electronic warfare (EW) and precision-guided munition firing trials.The two systems, ULPGM and AGNIKAA VTOL-1, have been designed, developed and manufactured indigenously.The ULPGM, co-developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Adani Defence & Aerospace, is India's first indigenous loitering munition in its category. The system is equipped with an Imaging Infrared (IIR) seeker and can be launched from UAVs to target both stationary and moving targets.The UAV has an operational range of up to 20 kilometres, while the munition itself has a strike range of 2.5 ...
Internet giant Google is exploring investment opportunities across AI infrastructure, including the production of servers and drones, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday. This announcement follows Google's groundbreaking of its USD 15 billion AI hub in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, in April this year. "Google is exploring investments in India across AI infrastructure and the manufacturing of servers and drones," Vaishnaw said in a social media post after meeting company officials.
Ukrainian military personnel shot down Iranian-designed Shahed drones in multiple Middle Eastern countries during the Iran war, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, describing the operations as part of a broader effort to help partners counter the same weapons used by Russia in Ukraine. Zelenskyy made his first public acknowledgment of the operations Wednesday in remarks to reporters that were embargoed until Friday. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces took part in active operations abroad using domestically produced, battle-tested interceptor drones.
The Delhi government's proposed drone policy is likely to focus on creating drone research clusters, establishing dedicated flight testing facilities, enabling the use of drones in traffic management, and providing subsidies to support the drone ecosystem, officials said on Saturday. According to officials, in a recently held meeting, the policy framework was discussed, where plans to rope in the Drone Federation of India (DFI), a leading non- government organisation in this area, were approved. Earlier this year, the government set up a committee under the chairmanship of the IT department secretary to examine the feasibility of the Delhi Drone Policy. "A comprehensive drone policy is being planned to ensure safe and regulated drone operations. Along with this, the government is working on an IT dashboard, a digital monitoring system to provide effective governance," IT minister Pankaj Singh said. According to officials, the policy's key objectives include regulating drone usage t
India must develop a robust ecosystem for drone manufacturing, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday, highlighting lessons from the Russia-Ukraine and Iran-Israel conflicts. Addressing the National Defence Industries Conclave, Singh said the two conflicts demonstrated the significance of drones and counter-drone technologies. "As the entire world watches the ongoing conflict involving Russia and Ukraine, along with Iran-Israel, we can clearly see the extremely significant role of drones and counter-drone technologies in future warfare," he said. "Today, there is a need to build such a drone manufacturing ecosystem in India in which we are completely self-reliant," he said. The conclave was attended by top executives of leading domestic defence manufacturing firms as well as officials of defence public sector undertakings. "For India's defence preparedness and strategic autonomy, it is essential that India becomes fully self-reliant in drone manufacturing," Singh said. T
Russian air defences intercepted and destroyed 250 Ukrainian drones targeting the capital over the weekend, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Monday. The mayor's remarks came as some of the major airports curtailed their operations on Monday morning. "Thank you to the Ministry of Defence's Air Defence System for your professional and dedicated work," Sobyanin wrote in a social media post, noting that about 250 fixed-wing drones, directly approaching the capital or on the second line of defence, were shot down. A massive Ukrainian drone attack on the city began on March 14. A total of 159 unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down while approaching the capital. It also led to major airports restricting operations on Monday. "Due to air safety concerns, the capital's Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports are currently accepting and dispatching aircraft in coordination with the relevant authorities," the Moskva 24 channel said. It advised passengers to check their airports' online time
Russia on Saturday shot down 16 Ukrainian drones heading to attack Moscow, officials said. In a social media post, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said first responders have reached the sites where the debris of the drones fell. He said 16 Ukrainian drones were shot down as they were heading towards Moscow. The mayor, however, did not give any details of damage or casualties on the ground. According to Moskva 24 TV channel, three of the four local airports, Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky, located in the capital, had suspended their operations for several hours, disrupting air traffic. As part of preparedness against drone attacks, Moscow city and the capital region have been selectively switching off mobile internet, and people have been advised to use applications available offline. Maxim Korkin, the regional official in charge of Transport and Information technology, cautioned residents of the Moscow region about possible "temporary difficulties with mobile communications and .
The distinctive buzz of Iranian-designed drones has become a familiar sound in Ukraine over the past four years. Now, it's increasingly heard across the Persian Gulf as Tehran strikes back with the cheap but effective weapons following the attack by the US and Israel against Iran. The Shahed drones have made a transformative impact on modern warfare, with Russia sending swarms of the deadly weapons into the skies above Ukraine on nightly missions. While ballistic and cruise missiles fly much faster and pack a bigger punch, they cost millions and are available only in limited quantities. A Shahed drone costs only tens of thousands of dollars - a tiny fraction of a ballistic missile. Available in big numbers, the drones have shown their capability to oversaturate air defences and inflict painful damage at a very low cost. After Russia's botched attempt to capture the Ukrainian capital after its full-scale invasion with tanks, troops and missiles in February 2022, the fighting has tur