India Buys $16M Worth of Indigenous Mini Drones From ideaForge
The Indian Army has placed an emergency order worth 1.37 billion rupees (around $16 million) for mini unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Indian manufacturer ideaForge.
The company will deliver an unspecified number of fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drones and their accessories within 12 months, following a selection process that emphasized indigenous content and required a solution with critical components not sourced from countries along India’s borders.
Designed for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance tasks and combat-proven during the four-day conflict between India and Pakistan in May 2025, the hybrid drones will be deployed for counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism operations.
“This emergency procurement for CI/CT operations, which will help safeguard national security, along with the military-use certification for Mini UAVs, reaffirms our commitment to building world-class, reliable UAVs in India,” said company CEO Ankit Mehta.
As the selection criteria mentioned that the drone must use non-border nation sources, two independent technical committees visited ideaForge’s manufacturing facilities to verify the origin and security of all subsystems used in the UAVs.
The order supports the broader “Make in India” initiative that aims to reduce dependence on foreign-made defense technology and increase domestic innovation and production.
