05 - 06 - 2026

India prepares biggest drone order yet

India is on the verge of placing its biggest-ever military drone order from domestic firms, with purchases likely to top $2 billion as New Delhi accelerates efforts to equip its armed forces with cheaper, faster and more adaptable battlefield systems.

The plans are in advanced stages and deliveries are expected over 18 to 24 months, Smit Shah, president of Drone Federation India told Reuters. “In the next phase, tactical drone procurements in India may exceed 200 billion rupees, or more than $2 billion,” he said, compared with recent government orders worth 30 billion rupees ($313 million) for tactical-class drones.

Conflict lessons drive urgency

The push reflects a sharper sense of urgency after clashes with Pakistan in May last year, when both sides deployed unmanned aerial vehicles at scale for the first time, exposing the offensive potential of low-cost drones.

Global conflicts have only strengthened that case. The wars in Ukraine and Iran have accelerated adoption, cut costs and forced militaries to rethink how they use unmanned systems for surveillance, attack and electronic warfare.

“Drones are force multipliers on the modern battlefield,” said Ramesh Chandra Padhi, an executive at IG Defence, a builder of advanced unmanned aerial and short-range missile systems. “The Indian army is following emergency or fast-track procurement to expedite the induction of drones on a very large scale,” the former senior army officer added.

Fast-track buying

The new orders may follow a fast-track procurement route designed to meet urgent operational needs, with deliveries likely needed within 24 months. India’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the reported purchase plan.

New Delhi has already moved to compress acquisition timelines by relying more heavily on emergency procurement powers and quicker approvals under the Defence Acquisition Procedure. For drones, that means the market is shifting from long-cycle procurement toward rapid induction and iterative upgrades.

Domestic industry scales up

India now has more than 600 firms making drones and components, including more than 100 focused on defence applications. The field spans large groups such as Adani Group, Larsen & Toubro and Tata Advanced Systems, as well as startups including ideaForge, Newspace Research and Asteria Aerospace.

The companies are working across reconnaissance, logistics, loitering munition, precision-strike and critical component systems. The government has also widened support through Innovations for Defence Excellence, or iDEX, to help smaller firms develop prototypes, win initial orders and scale production faster.

What it means

The scale of the planned order suggests drones are becoming a core part of India’s military modernisation, not just an experimental capability. For domestic manufacturers, that could mean a much larger and more predictable pipeline, along with stronger incentives for investment, partnerships and capacity expansion.

For the armed forces, the appeal is straightforward: drones offer low-cost mass, operational flexibility and a fast way to close surveillance and strike gaps. If the purchase goes ahead as expected, it would mark a clear turn in India’s defence posture toward unmanned systems at scale.