The Indian Army is at an advanced stage of deliberation to create a separate specialised unit under the infantry division for operating drones that have become the centrepiece arsenal in non-contact modern warfare, Army sources told businessline.

The strategic move to have ‘smart soldiers’ — a concept outlined by Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi last November to equip each soldier with UAV — is driven by a sense of urgency, given that like other ongoing global conflicts, cheap drones and combat UAVs were extensively used by Pakistan and India throughout Operation Sindoor.

It’s also in sync with international militaries’ technology absorption trend to give a formal structure to scattered use of unmanned aerial vehicles by their respective armed forces.

The US, China, Israel, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and Iran have either already formed or are in the process of putting together units for integrating unmanned systems into their land force, air force and naval force for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and combat roles. 

Indian Army sources said advanced deliberations among the top military brass are taking place over proposals received from field units, training centres and think tanks on giving a shape to combat drone units in the Infantry Division.

What name the platoon should carry is also being discussed, remarked Army sources. Among them is, ‘First Person View (FPV)‘ Platoon, they added.

Besides, other arms of the Army, such as Artillery and Signals, will continue to use other payload-carrying versions of UAVs for logistics, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance purposes.

Counter-UAV systems

The Indian Army is also building an ecosystem around the UAVs and counter-UAV systems. The Army’s 75th Infantry Brigade has set up a Drone Training Node at Bhuj, Gujarat. It’s known as ‘Bald Eagle Combat Drone Training Centre, Where Technology Meets Valour.’

The Army is also carrying out capability enhancement exercises to impart training for trainers to empower jawans.

The training is being offered on drone assembly, programming, tactical deployment, and counter-drone operations, so that the force is ready to handle critical technologies in times of war. For instance, recently, the Army conducted an intensive week-long ‘Training the Trainers’ capsule at 39 Gorkha Training Centre (GTC), Varanasi, for instructors from all Regimental Centres.

This specialised module equip instructors with advanced knowledge and practical skills to build a robust instructional capability across units.

These trained teams will now impart drone warfare training to Agniveers in their respective regimental centres, laying a strong foundation for integrating niche technologies into Infantry operations, the GTC had observed.

3D printing lab

The GTC had also said that it has begun an FPV drone development course and 3D printing lab for prototyping parts of UAVs as maintenance of these in battle grounds is a challenge.

Published on June 30, 2025