Redefining aerial combat

The ‘eagle on arm’ idea seeks to put small unmanned aerial vehicles at the battalion, company and even section level, giving soldiers their own aerial eyes and precision strike options without waiting for assets controlled by specialist rear-area units. A specialised mobile repair and assembly vehicle was showcased during the parade, with soldiers inside the vehicle making crucial drone components with specialised equipment sets and 3D printing robots. These vehicles can repair damaged drones, assemble new ones from modular components and restore systems close to the frontline, reducing downtime and dependence on distant depots.

Major General Rajan Kochhar (retired) said the ‘eagle on arm’ idea is centred on lightweight drones that can be carried by soldiers and used as real-time surveillance and strike tools. He explained that the concept is designed to place small intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, with limited loitering munition capability, directly in the hands of infantry units operating on the frontline.

“The eagle on arm concept is basically limited to lightweight drones, preferably for ISR capability, with limited loitering munition capability for destruction of enemy forward localities,” Kochhar said.

He mentioned that these drones are intended to function as an extension of the soldier’s own senses. “It is going to be shoulder-worn, lightweight - basically an eye to the sky. It becomes the eyes and ears of the infantry soldier,” he explained, noting that such tools will change how small units operate in combat. According to him, the army is moving toward “a doctrinal change now in terms of infantry employment, small-unit tactics with drone integration into the infantry battalion”.

Kochhar highlighted that one of the significant changes will be the decentralisation of reconnaissance. “Earlier, ISR was centralised at the battalion level. Now it can come down to the section level. That is an important doctrinal change,” he noted. This will improve situational awareness on the battlefield.

“The crunch point here is situational awareness. You are getting a kind of awareness that possibly would not have been there without this technology,” he added.

With real-time aerial eyes, soldiers will be able to anticipate threats and react faster, reducing the time between observation and action. “You are able to detect threats, say an ambush, before it takes place, and the drones can strike the enemy. Also, now you can mark the grid location to direct the artillery fire,” Kochhar noted, adding that this reduces the danger for personnel deployed at heights in observation posts. This, he emphasised, reduces the decision cycle.

“You have reduced the OODA (observe, orient, decide, act) cycle. From hours of decision-making, you have come down to minutes.”

Professor Manindra Agrawal, director IIT-K, framed the concept as a logistical necessity shaped by a modern combat situation where drones are used at high rates.

“It is important to have the ability to rapidly put together drones at the frontline because, in active situations, drones are lost in large numbers,” Agrawal said, explaining that long and vulnerable supply chains could slow down replacements during wartime.

“If manufacturing is happening far away, the supply chain becomes a challenge. That is why the services want the ability to build them close to the frontline.”

He noted that small tactical drones are particularly suited for such an approach. “Small drones are not very difficult to manufacture. You can build the components in advance and just put them together in a predefined way,” he explained, clarifying that the concept applies mainly to lightweight battlefield systems.

“At the frontline, we are essentially talking about small drones, not medium altitude-long endurance class systems.” Large drones, he added, are more complex and are not lost in large numbers, making centralised production more practical for them.

Abhishek Jain, chief business officer of the Pune-based smart and autonomous munitions manufacturing firm ZeusNumerix, highlighted the same logic of scale and attrition that underpins the concept. “In the future, there will be a war of attrition. If I send 1,000 drones, I know only about 500 will come back,” Jain said.

He stressed that systems must be designed around losses rather than perfection. “I have to do two things — make them cheap and define my concept of operations in such a way that even the drones that are lost still do useful work.”

Agrawal linked this logic directly to the economics of drone warfare, especially in counter-drone scenarios. “If a ₹10-lakh drone is coming at you, you should not spend ₹10 crore to destroy it,” he said, emphasising that affordable solutions are essential at scale.

Jain pointed towards the importance of efficient logistics and modular systems. “It is very difficult to store fully assembled drones because of the space they take,” he noted, adding that component-based storage allows faster deployment. “Within 10 minutes, you can assemble a drone if the components are ready and the soldiers are trained.”

Agrawal explained the concept of “modularity”, where design, prototyping and testing are carried out at central facilities, while assembly is done closer to the battlefield. “You first design, prototype and test at a central facility. Once the design is validated, you mass-produce components instead of the entire drone,” he explained.

“These components can then be shipped to the frontline and assembled quickly as needed.” Such an approach, he added, improves turnaround time. “If designs are modular and only components are shipped, the turnaround time for making new drones becomes very short.”

Both Agrawal and Jain pointed to the growing role of software in future drone warfare, especially in swarm operations. “Swarm drones need special software that allows them to fly in sync. It is more of a software challenge than a hardware one,” Agrawal said.

Jain, too, stressed the need for deeper technological control and optimisation. “Asset optimisation will be a very big thing. How do you use your assets optimally? That cannot be done on a hunch,” Jain said, underscoring the need for simulations, analytics and planning to maximise operational effectiveness.

Agrawal cautioned that India still faces dependence on imported components such as motors, batteries and high-end sensors. “In a war situation, if your supply chain passes through other countries, it may just dry up,” he warned.

Agrawal also outlined IIT-K’s role in the emerging ecosystem, saying the institute has been working with the defence ministry to upgrade its facilities into a single platform for drone design, prototyping and testing, adding that such a setup would be “a unique, one-of-its-kind facility in the country”.

“Ideally, there should be a triad of DRDO, academia and the services working on the same platform,” Agrawal added, outlining the collaborative ecosystem needed to turn any vision into an operational reality.

Kochhar said the real impact of such systems lies in the doctrinal changes they will demand across the infantry units, noting that pushing drone capability down to the section level would require new procedures, training and support structures.

“Doctrines have to be made, SOPs and battle procedures will have to be rewritten,” he said, adding that sustainment and operator skills would be critical.

He stressed that the success of the concept will depend on skilled soldiers and sustained training, noting that operator proficiency, along with robust logistics support — batteries, maintenance and spares — will be critical to making the system effective in the field.

The concept behind ‘Drone Shakti - Eagle on Arm’ points to a common direction. The armed forces are looking at drones as a core part of infantry doctrine, with decentralised ISR, faster decisions and improved survivability at the smallest tactical levels. Academia is focusing on modular designs and software-driven solutions to reduce costs and dependence on imports. Whereas the industry side is pushing for scalable logistics to reduce costs and dependence on imports.

Its success will depend on how effectively these ideas are translated into doctrine, training and logistics on the ground. The challenge around secure communications, indigenous components and supply chains remains pertinent. If these challenges are addressed, the ‘eagle on arm’ concept could redefine how Indian infantry fights — placing aerial awareness and strike capability directly in the hands of frontline soldiers.