New Delhi: In a significant leap for India’s defence capabilities, the country on Tuesday successfully test-fired Bhargavastra, a fully indigenous, cost-effective system designed to neutralise hostile drone swarms with precision.
Conducted at the Seaward Firing Range in Gopalpur, Odisha, the test met all performance parameters, marking a milestone in India’s efforts to develop advanced, homegrown counter-drone technology tailored for modern warfare.
Bhargavastra, developed by the Strategic Defence and Analysis Laboratory (SDAL), features an integrated suite of micro-rockets and micro-missiles, capable of targeting and neutralising UAVs across varied terrains—including high-altitude regions above 5,000 metres—where Indian forces frequently operate.
#Massive : understand why ?
Solar Group Successfully Tests “Bhargavastra” Counter Drone System
Economic Explosives Ltd. (EEL) has developed and successfully tested the Bhargavastra, a guided micro-missile-based Counter Drone System, addressing the growing threat of weaponized… pic.twitter.com/UpR7dEBVyK
— Alpha Defense™🇮🇳 (@alpha_defense) January 15, 2025
What sets Bhargavastra apart is its modular architecture. It combines hard-kill capabilities with a soft-kill layer, including jamming and spoofing, to create a comprehensive, multi-layered defence system for all three branches of the armed forces. Its radar, electro-optical (EO), and radio frequency (RF) sensors work in sync with the shooter module to deliver a flexible, tiered air defence solution.
The system’s radar can detect even micro drones at distances of 6 to 10 kilometres, while the EO/IR suite ensures precise tracking of low radar cross-section (LRCS) targets. Its Command-and-Control Centre uses state-of-the-art C4I (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence) infrastructure, enabling seamless integration with India’s existing network-centric warfare systems.
Defence experts hail Bhargavastra as a strategic game-changer—scalable, open-architecture, and unmatched globally in its category. While other nations are still developing similar capabilities, India’s successful deployment of this indigenous technology places it at the forefront of counter-drone warfare.
