For decades, India's military relied primarily on troops, fighter aircraft, satellites and conventional surveillance systems to monitor its borders.
The 2020 military standoff with China in eastern Ladakh exposed the challenge of maintaining constant surveillance across vast stretches of difficult high-altitude terrain.
Now India is preparing to place a record military drone order worth over $2 billion (€1.7 billion) with domestic manufacturers, including major firms like Adani Group, Tata Advanced Systems and Larsen & Toubro as well as startups such as ideaForge and Asteria Aerospace, marking this its largest-ever unmanned systems procurement.
Drones are increasingly seen as the eyes and ears of the battlefield, capable of gathering intelligence, tracking troop movements, delivering supplies and carrying out precision strikes.
The drones are expected to be deployed along some of India's most sensitive frontiers including the Line of Actual Control with China, the borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh, and the Indian Ocean.
