India appeared to debut ‘new’ weaponary during its attacks on Pakistan earlier this month. SkyStriker suicide drones, manufactured in Bengaluru and procured by the Indian Army in 2021, are designed to locate, acquire and strike operator-designated targets with its installed warhead.
They were used during Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7 when India hit nine terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Pakistan province of Punjab.
According to Indian officials, this led to the death of more than 100 ‘terrorists’ – while they also confirmed they’d lost five of their own soldiers.
Times of India claim an unspecified number of these ‘silent’ drones were manufactured in an industrial estate in western Bengaluru as part of a joint venture involving Bengaluru-headquartered Alpha Design and Israel’s Elbit Security Systems.
India then placed an emergency procurement order in 2021 for around 100 of the weapons, but what are these weapons capable of?
They boast a range of 100km with each drone carrying a 5kg or 10kg warhead, propelled ‘silently’ due to its electrical propulsion allowing covert operations at low altitude.
It is touted as a ‘cost-effective’ munition capable of long-range precision strikes with improvements in performance, situational awareness and survivability.
In their description of the ‘suicide drones’, Elbit Security Systems says it flies like a UAS (unmanned aircraft system) and strikes like a missile: “As a silent, invisible, and surprise attacker, SkyStriker delivers the utmost in precision and reliability, providing a critical advantage in the modern battlefield.”
Top military officials from both India and Pakistan are due to meet on Monday to discuss the finer details of the ceasefire agreed between the two countries over the weekend.
The US-brokered agreement, which brought both nuclear-armed neighbours to a standstill and has momentarily squashed WW3 fears, appears to be holding after four days of shelling and and aerial attacks from both sides.
Announcing the ceasefire on Saturday, US President Donald Trump said: “It is time to stop the current aggression that could have led to the death and destruction of so many, and so much.”