Powai lake to LOC: How desi drone startups are disrupting warfare
Powai lake to LOC: How desi drone startups are disrupting warfare
Shruti Sonal
TNN
Updated: May 17, 2025, 16:36 IST IST
With the Indo-Pak clash, and earlier the Russia-Ukraine war, showing us how well and truly we are in an era where machines go to war, drone startups are carving a new niche
Remember the scene in 2009 blockbuster film '3 Idiots' where Ali Fazal's character Joy Lobo flies his drone around the college campus? The prototype for that quadcopter — symbolising innovation in an environment of rote learning — belonged to three students from IIT Bombay, who are today the founders of IdeaForge , which manufactures drones for defence, mapping and surveillance.
'We made our first quadcopter drone in 2004, flew it over Powai lake and won a bunch of competitions. It was all fun and games, but then, 26/11 happened, and we knew the technology could be put to better use,' says Ankit Mehta, who co-founded the startup almost straight out of college. Among its customers are state and central armed police forces.
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