New Delhi: Indian drone manufacturer IG Defence is in talks with countries in the Gulf for the possible export of its KAL, a Shahed-class long-range, one-way attack drone. The company said in a statement Wednesday that the 1,000 km-class attack drone, engineered for deep-penetration missions against high-value strategic targets, was unveiled in May at the North Tech Symposium in Prayagraj.
Company officials told ThePrint that they are in talks for export orders and that the product is fully developed and tested. However, they refused to comment if the Indian armed forces had tested it, saying they don’t comment on any trials by the forces.
The company underlined that KAL is fully designed and developed in India.
There are mainly three Indian companies working on Shahed-like drones. Besides IG Defence, there is the Bangalore-based NewSpace Research and Technologies, which has developed Sheshnaag-150, and Lucknow-based Hoverit, which has made Divyastra, available in both Mk1 and Mk2 versions.
IG Defence said that ongoing regional conflicts have highlighted the strategic importance of cost-effective, precision-guided unmanned systems capable of operating deep within contested environments while reducing risks to personnel and significantly lowering the cost of long-range precision strike operations. They added that the KAL platform integrates long endurance, autonomous navigation, and precision targeting into a cost-effective solution designed to meet the evolving requirements of modern warfare.
KAL belongs to the emerging class of Shahed-136-type long-range, one-way attack drones, a category of systems that has transformed contemporary warfare through its combination of extended range, precision strike capability, operational simplicity, and affordability.
Since its emergence in recent conflicts, this class of unmanned systems has reshaped military thinking and strike capabilities. Every major country has now developed their own version of Shahed, originally developed by Iran. Russia has Geran-2 and the US the LUCAS.
IG defence said that KAL has an operational range of up to 1,000 kilometres, an endurance of 7-8 hours, and the capability to carry a 50-kg payload.
“As countries across the Gulf and other strategic regions continue expanding investments in autonomous strike capabilities, global demand for sovereign, affordable, and rapidly deployable unmanned systems is expected to grow significantly,” the company told ThePrint.
Adding, “Subject to all applicable Government of India export approvals and regulatory clearances, KAL positions IG Defence to contribute to India’s ambition of becoming a trusted supplier of indigenous defence technologies to friendly foreign nations.”
Besides KAL, IG Defence has developed multiple types of drones including interceptor drones, FPV combat drones, autonomous UAVs, counter-UAS systems, AI-enabled swarm technologies, electronic warfare solutions, tactical robotics, and logistics drones.
Speaking on the development, Bodhisattwa Sanghapriya, founder & CEO of IG Defence, told ThePrint, “The future battlefield will increasingly be defined by autonomous, long-range precision strike capabilities. KAL represents an important milestone in India’s journey towards self-reliance in advanced defence technologies and demonstrates our ability to design and develop world-class indigenous systems”.
(Edited by Pakhi Khare)
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