The Indian Army has placed an order for procurement of 450 NAGASTRA-1R loitering munitions from Solar Defence and Aerospace Limited (SDAL) for replenishing its inventory with smart bombs exhausted during the Operation Sindoor.
The advanced loitering munition system with a 360 gimbal camera has the option of a thermal camera for night operations, Solar Defence and Aerospace Limited said in a statement on Monday.
The system, stated the company, has a proprietary encryption for both video and telemetry communication and comes with high precision targeting system with 2 metres Circular Error Probable (CEP) -- which is the radius of a circle, centered on the intended target point -- and has more than 80 per cent indigenous content.
The systems have been tested at various locations, including at high altitude in Ladakh and Babina field firing range near Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, the statement read.
The NAGASTRA-1R, it said, is a cost effective system with full re-usability of its launcher systems.
Earlier on June 12, the SDAL said, it successfully completed the trial of its Hybrid VTOL UAV Rudrastra at the Pokharan firing range to demonstrate operational capability, covering a mission radius of over 50 km with a stable real-time video link and successfully returning to the original launch point.
The total range, including loitering at the target area, exceeded 170 km, with an estimated endurance of approximately 1.5 hours.
A significant highlight of the trial was the successful deployment of a precision-guided anti-personnel warhead. Dropped from medium altitude, the munition executed an airburst detonation at low height, achieving a lethal effect over a wide radius, meeting tactical effectiveness benchmarks.