 "Skycat Wingwalkers from the Scandinavian Airshow aerobatic team on the fourth day of the 11th biennial edition of Aero India 2017 at the Yelahanka air base in Bengaluru on Friday Photo: PTI")
India is investing heavily in developing unmanned vehicles — ground, sea and air — as it gears up for a fast-approaching era of soldier-less battlefields despite the current void in policies governing how they will be used.
Government-run labs of the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) and National Aeronautics Ltd, along with state-owned defence manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, are working on several drone projects, right from vehicles that weigh under a kg to Rustom II, which will have a payload capacity of 350 kg.
The DRDO, which designed the Tejas light combat aircraft and drones such as Nishant and Lakshya, is
