Building Drone Power: India’s Path from Innovation to Endurance

This report examines whether India can sustain drone warfare, not merely whether it can acquire drones. Moving beyond the platform-centric terms that have shaped India’s debate, it reframes drone capability as a question of endurance: the capacity to absorb losses, replenish inventories, adapt under fire, and keep producing through a prolonged conflict.
Upload/Select an audio or use external audio url to work this widget.

This report examines whether India can sustain drone warfare, not merely whether it can acquire drones. Moving beyond the platform-centric terms that have shaped India’s debate, it reframes drone capability as a question of endurance: the capacity to absorb losses, replenish inventories, adapt under fire, and keep producing through a prolonged conflict. To structure the assessment, it develops a five-tier framework: access, scale, integration, adaptation, and resilience, and applies it to India’s ecosystem using open-source evidence and comparative lessons from Ukraine, the Red Sea, and Operation Sindoor. The analysis identifies scale, the rate at which India can regenerate combat losses, as the binding constraint, and traces how dependencies on foreign components and supply chains tie that rate down. Intended for policymakers, defense planners, and industry, the report offers a horizon-based set of recommendations aimed at moving India from possessing drones to sustaining drone warfare.

Experts

CATALYZING IDEAS, TRANSFORMING PERSPECTIVES

Our publications empower governments with informed policy decisions, equip corporations with market foresight, and provide research institutions with comprehensive insights. Individuals gain a deeper understanding of global issues, while businesses leverage our diverse perspectives for innovation. Collaborating with us offers partners a competitive edge, cutting-edge research access, and a nuanced understanding of global dynamics, fostering sustainable growth and impactful change.