Indian Army inducts largest-ever batch of 450 Nagastra-1R kamikaze loitering munitions

TLDR

• The Indian Army received 450 Nagastra-1R loitering munitions, its largest batch of indigenous kamikaze drones to date.¹²
• The batch shows India moving loitering munitions from emergency stopgap to a standing part of its arsenal.¹²
• Nagastra-1R carries a 1-kg warhead and can strike targets up to 30 km away.²

The Indian Army has received its single largest batch of indigenous loitering munitions, with 450 Nagastra-1R systems delivered this week.¹² The munitions were ordered last year under emergency procurement powers the defence ministry granted the armed forces to acquire urgently needed equipment, and were supplied by Nagpur-based Solar Defence and Aerospace Limited (SDAL), formerly Economic Explosives Limited, which emerged as the sole firm among four to meet all operational parameters in trials.¹²

The Rs 158-crore order was placed in June 2025 under emergency procurement authority granted after hostilities with Pakistan, with delivery required within a year; SDAL said it took a little over a year to complete.² The Nagastra-1R is designed for short-range operations and intended as a low-cost platform that can be fielded in large numbers during a conflict.¹ It carries a 1-kg warhead, can strike targets up to 30 km away, and stays airborne for about an hour; if it fails to find a target or the mission is aborted, it can be recalled and recovered by parachute for reuse.² The IR variant adds a 360-degree gimbal camera, an optional thermal camera for night operations, encrypted video and telemetry links, and a reusable launcher, with the company claiming 2-metre strike accuracy and more than 80% indigenous content.²

The batch is a follow-on to an earlier emergency procurement contract for 480 Nagastra-1 drones, the first 120 of which were delivered to the Pulgaon ammunition depot in June 2024 with the full lot completed by December that year.² Defence minister Rajnath Singh has said Nagastra drones struck terrorist targets with precision during Operation Sindoor.¹ Since then, the armed forces have signed emergency procurement contracts worth roughly Rs 30,000 crore, largely for drones, counter-drone systems, radars, and electronic warfare equipment, after a defence ministry document acknowledged domestic industry could not supply enough niche drones, counter-drone systems, and loitering munitions during the operation.² SDAL is now developing a follow-on Nagastra-2.²

Why it matters: a single batch this size shows India moving loitering munitions from emergency stopgap to a standing part of its arsenal, and the push towards low-cost, high-volume indigenous drones reflects lessons the Army says it learned the hard way during Operation Sindoor.