Army inducts in-house developed First Person View drones

FPV drones gained prominence during the war in Ukraine, where they demonstrated their capacity to alter battlefield dynamics. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Indian Army has begun inducting a First Person View (FPV) drone equipped with an anti-tank payload. This drone was developed, tested, and validated internally in collaboration with the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), Chandigarh. Officials confirmed that an initial batch of five FPV drones, each costing ₹ 1.4 lakh, has been inducted, with a subsequent procurement of 95 more planned.

FPV drones gained prominence during the war in Ukraine, where they demonstrated their capacity to alter battlefield dynamics by effectively neutralising substantial and costly military assets such as tanks.

Also read: Ukraine rushes to create AI-enabled war drones

The FPV drone was developed by Major Cephas Chetan in conjunction with a team from TBRL, led by Dr. Raghvendra, under an initiative launched in August 2024.

An official stated that this project represents a significant milestone in tactical drone warfare, marking the successful in-house development, testing, and validation of an FPV drone armed with an impact-based, kamikaze-role anti-tank munition – a first for the Indian Army.

Officials further added that the FPV drone was entirely assembled at the Rising Star Drone Battle School, which, as of March 2025, had fabricated over 100 drones within the formation.