New Delhi: Kadet Defence Systems, a Bengaluru-based aerospace company, is creating an entire family of loitering munitions to cater to domestic as well as international markets, after having won a contract to manufacture these systems for the Indian Armed Forces.
The company is focusing on creating loitering munitions with payloads of 50 grams to 40 kilograms of explosives, Avdhesh Khaitan, Kadet’s Co-Founder & CEO, told ThePrint in an interview.
He said that the range of these loitering munitions would be up to 150 kilometres, if based on radio frequency. If they are satellite-based, it would be much higher.
The firm had last month announced the inking of a contract for the delivery of over 50 loitering munitions by the end of 2024, fulfilling Indian Armed Forces’ operational requirements for the near future.
The agreement came after they developed the system under the Development cum Production Partner (DCPP) model with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The system encompasses a diverse array of technologies, including Canister Aerial Loitering Munition (CALM), Combat UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) with stand-off capabilities for munition release, Tactical VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) UAVs, and a versatile mix of systems capable of swarming and manned-unmanned teaming operations.
This comes amid a string of proposals by the Indian military to acquire loitering munitions, which have proved to be a deadly weapon of choice in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
“We would be bidding ourselves. We have a better chance compared to others but we will still have to clear the L1 criteria (lowest bidder),” Khaitan said.
Kadet is committed to meeting the demand by scaling up production to deliver an estimated five thousand systems within the next 2-3 years, he added.
Speaking about the market outlook, Khaitan told ThePrint that the market size of such systems in India is estimated to be around Rs 15,000 crore, and that they are looking at foreign markets, especially East Asia and Africa.
Incidentally, the company has also launched India’s first Jet-Powered Aerial Targets, which have already been exported to another country.
These targets are designed to travel at a speed exceeding 500 kilometres per hour with an extensive flight range of 300 kilometres from the point of launch, and can reach altitudes higher than 6,000 metres.
With low observable radar cross section and swarming capabilities, the targets serve as training aids and evaluation tools for armed forces and development agencies.
“We are developing a family concept. We are creating digital twins of our aircraft. You don’t need one system, which is for one particular type of mission. Aerial targets can be used as loitering munitions with additions of camera and warheads,” Khaitan said.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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