'Indian Surveillance Drone In Stratosphere In 24-36 Months': CEO Of Start-Up That Was Key To Op Sindoor
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Bodhisattwa Sanghapriya, founder and CEO of IG Drones, said should conflicts arise again, India won't be playing catch-up
In the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijan's extensive use of drones was the first tell-tale sign that the technology would be dominant in the wars to come. This proved true during Operation Sindoor and the immediate India-Pakistan conflict that followed as both countries used drones heavily.
While Pakistan relied on Turkish-made Bayraktar, the same drones used by Azerbaijan, India went indigenous, betting big on four companies. One of them is IG Drones, a small student-driven start-up that kickstarted a year before the Balakot strike. By the time Operation Sindoor took place, the Indian Army was banking on them like three other Indian drone ventures.
Bodhisattwa Sanghapriya, founder and CEO of IG Drones who prefers to be called the 'Son of Odisha', says gone are the days India used to 'chase'; instead, it sets its own doctrine. At a time when fighting a war is costly, Sanghapriya talks about his Kamikaze drone that costs just Rs 1 lakh and was put to use against Pakistan. He assures that within one to one-and-a-half years, India will have its surveillance drone in the stratosphere.
Edited Excerpts:
From being just another start-up to being mentioned by the government as one of the four drone companies in Operation Sindoor, how has the journey been?
The journey has been nothing short of transformational. IG Drones started in 2018 from a modest student-led initiative in Odisha, born out of a college project aimed at solving real-world problems like sedimentation in the Hirakud reservoir. What began as academic curiosity evolved into a company that now delivers mission-critical drone systems to India's defence forces.
After Operation Sindoor and amid the growing use of drones in India-Pakistan tensions, how impactful were the 2021 Liberalised Drone Rules?
The 2021 Liberalised Drone Rules were a turning point for India's drone sector. Prior to this reform, drone development was heavily restricted—every flight, survey, or test needed tedious DGCA clearances. Innovation was throttled by red tape.
These rules dismantled those barriers. They liberalised drone licensing, opened airspace access, and simplified testing procedures, creating an ecosystem conducive to R&D and industrial scaling. For companies like ours, it meant the ability to prototype quickly, deploy at scale, and localise manufacturing.
What we're seeing now—FPV Kamikaze drones used in live ops, AI-enabled ISR drones patrolling borders, and fully Indian-made VTOL systems—is the result of that policy shift. It wasn't just a regulatory change—it was a catalyst that set India's drone defence ecosystem into overdrive.
There's talk of IG Drones' Rs 1 lakh FPV Kamikaze drones being used against Pakistan. Is this true—and how viable is it?
Yes, it's accurate, and represents a strategic leap in low-cost, high-impact aerial warfare. Our Rs 1 lakh FPV Kamikaze drones are engineered for precision strike missions, reaching speeds of up to 140km/h, with integrated EO/IR optics and optimised payload delivery mechanisms. These are one-way attack UAVs designed for dynamic target acquisition and terminal engagement.
The viability stems from their exceptional cost-to-effectiveness ratio. Conventional loitering munitions from foreign OEMs can cost Rs 10–20 lakh per unit. In contrast, our platform delivers comparable kinetic output at 5–10 per cent of that cost—making it highly scalable for saturation strikes and attritional warfare, especially in contested zones like the LoC.
This is more than just frugal engineering; it's sovereign capability enhancement, providing the Indian Armed Forces with a domestically developed, modular, and field-adaptable tactical asset.
Operating in conflict zones like Poonch demands military-grade preparedness. During a recent escalation, four of our field engineers were on a forward surveillance mission and temporarily caught in crossfire. Their successful extraction was a result of strict adherence to hardened field protocols—not chance.
We follow standard operating procedures aligned with defence logistics: all deployments involve encrypted comms, and pre-approved extraction routes coordinated with the Indian Army. Our personnel undergo combat-zone readiness training, and every mission is backed by a centralised command and control (C2) node for real-time decision support.
At IG Drones, we don't just deploy drones; we deploy tactically aware, trained drone operatives. We are institutionalising 'drone soldiers" to match the evolving nature of hybrid warfare
Pakistan has been using Turkish drones like the Bayraktar/Bakhtiyar. Should India be concerned?
Pakistan's acquisition of platforms like the Bayraktar TB2 is a known factor, but India is now defining the technological curve rather than chasing it. While the TB2 offers long endurance and guided munitions, our UAV systems incorporate AI-assisted object recognition, swarm coordination, secure mesh networking, and hardened anti-GNSS spoofing systems. These capabilities are engineered specifically for high-interference environments and complex terrains typical of South Asia.
Furthermore, the Indian advantage lies in full-stack integration—our drones leverage indigenous sensors, communication stacks, and data fusion algorithms to create actionable ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) outputs in real time.
In short, the doctrine has shifted. It's no longer about parity—it's about superiority through indigenous innovation and operational intelligence.
When do you expect India to launch a stratospheric drone (HAPS)?
High-Altitude Pseudo Satellites (HAPS) are indeed the next frontier in aerial dominance. These are stratospheric drones that can hover at 20–30 km altitude for weeks or even months, acting like low-orbit satellites—but with more flexibility and far lower cost.
At IG Drones, we're in the early stages of architectural design and feasibility assessments for HAPS systems, in collaboration with research institutions and defence stakeholders. The DRDO's successful 2025 test of a stratospheric airship validates that we're on the right trajectory.
Given the current pace of indigenous R&D and the government's push for strategic autonomy, we estimate that India could see its first operational HAPS platforms within the next 24–36 months. These will revolutionise ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance), remote connectivity, and emergency communication.
With India's new doctrine of treating future terror attacks as acts of war, how confident are you in our drone edge over Pakistan?
We are unequivocally confident. India has transitioned from a reactive posture to a proactive and deterrence-based drone warfare strategy—and we're leading that transformation.
Today, we possess a robust and fully indigenous drone arsenal: high-speed FPV Kamikaze drones, AI-driven ISR platforms, autonomous swarm systems, and precision loitering munitions—all designed, developed, and produced domestically. What once took years to prototype, we now iterate within months—thanks to vertical integration of R&D, avionics, and advanced manufacturing under one command structure.
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This isn't just about building drones; it's about building a battlefield advantage. Our systems are engineered for interoperability, rapid deployment, and mission-specific adaptability. Backed by national defence programs, PLI incentives, and forward-leaning policy support, India's drone warfare capability is not just prepared—it's dominant.
Should conflict arise, India won't be playing catch-up. We will set the tempo—operationally, technologically, and strategically.
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Drones Indian Army news18 specials Operation Sindoor Poonch turkey
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New Delhi, India, India
First Published:
May 21, 2025, 12:11 IST
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