India's low-cost Bhargavastra can thwart Pakistan's Turkish drone swarms: How it works

India has come up with a cost-effective solution to counter drones with Solar Defence and Aerospace Limited (SDAL) developing a micro-missile system called Bhargavastra.

The rockets have undergone rigorous testing at the Seaward Firing Range in Gopalpur, Odisha, on May 13. SDAL said three trials were held in the presence of senior Army Air Defence (AAD) officials.

One of the trials saw two rockets fired in salvo mode within two seconds while the other two trials saw one rocket fired each. All the rockets performed as expected and met the required launch parameters in line with Bhargavastra's state-of-the-art technology.

What is Bhargavastra?

Bhargavastra can simultaneously launch more than 64 micro-missiles. The system's unguided micro-rockets form the first layer of defence and can neutralise drones with a lethal radius of 20 metres. On the other hand, guided micro-missiles have pinpoint accuracy to ensure precise and impactful neutralisation. They can detect small aerial vehicles at a distance of 6 to 10 km using its sophisticated C4I technology. C4I stands for Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence.

SDAL said Bhargavastra's modular system is adaptable and hence additional soft-kill layer can be included using jamming and spoofing to provide a comprehensive shield.

During Operation Sindoor, Pakistan used Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 and YIHA drones against India. Turkey also sent operatives to train Paksitani army. On May 7-8, Pakistan is believed to have sent 300 to 400 drones to target Indian military infrastructure. They targeted 36 locations from Leh to Sir Creek but all these were intecepted using kinetc and non-kinetic means, according to the Indian armed forces.

Defence