Solar Defence and Aerospace Ltd (SDAL) demonstrated Bhargavastra, an indigenously developed, vehicle-mounted, multi-layered Counter-Swarm Drone System, to the Indian Army in Nagpur on 24 July 2026 during a Make-II programme status review. Designed to neutralise weaponised drones, loitering munitions and autonomous drone swarms, it uses a layered hard-kill approach combining unguided micro-rockets with a lethal radius of about 20 metres and precision-guided micro-missiles able to intercept targets up to 2.5 km away. The system detects larger UAVs at up to 10 km and smaller drones at 6 km using radar, EO/IR sensors and RF detectors linked through a C4I network. During the trial, SDAL flew a drone swarm that the sensors detected and tracked while the C4I system generated a real-time air picture and assigned targets. It is built for deserts, plains and high altitudes up to 5,000 metres. SDAL's chairman Satyanarayan Nuwal said internal trials would be completed in two to three months.
Key Facts & Details
11 points- 1Bhargavastra is an indigenous vehicle-mounted counter-swarm drone system.
- 2It was developed by Solar Defence and Aerospace Ltd (SDAL).
- 3It was demonstrated to the Indian Army in Nagpur on 24 July 2026 under a Make-II programme review.
- 4It uses unguided micro-rockets with a lethal radius of about 20 metres.
- 5It also uses precision-guided micro-missiles effective up to 2.5 km.
- 6Detection range is up to 10 km for larger UAVs and 6 km for smaller drones.
- 7Sensors include radar, EO/IR and RF detectors integrated via a C4I network.
- 8It is designed for deserts, plains and high altitudes up to 5,000 metres.
Deep Dive
- +Targets include weaponised drones, loitering munitions and autonomous drone swarms.
- +SDAL chairman Satyanarayan Nuwal said internal trials will finish in two to three months.
- +In the trial, the C4I system generated a real-time air picture and assigned targets before firing.
Exam Focus
Who developed the Bhargavastra counter-swarm drone system, and where was it demonstrated to the Army?
Exam Relevance & Angle
Counter-drone systems are a fast-growing defence theme, and the system name, developer, demonstration city and range figures are all precisely testable.
Target Exams
Background & Context
A drone swarm attacks by numbers: dozens of cheap drones arrive together, so a defender who fires one expensive missile per drone loses the exchange on cost alone. That is the problem a counter-swarm system solves. Bhargavastra answers it in layers — cheap unguided micro-rockets blanket an area to bring down the bulk of a swarm, while a smaller number of guided micro-missiles handle anything that gets through. A hard kill means physically destroying the drone, as opposed to a soft kill that jams its signal or spoofs its navigation. The C4I network — command, control, communications, computers and intelligence — is what stitches the radars and sensors into one picture so targets can be assigned automatically.
Test Yourself
1 / 2The Bhargavastra counter-swarm drone system has been developed by:
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