Indian Armed Forces Test Integrated Missile and Drone Swarm Tactics

India’s armed forces have recently conducted a high‑intensity exercise that combined long‑range missile strikes with coordinated drone‑swarm operations, reflecting how rapidly the country’s defence doctrine is adapting to modern, multi‑domain warfare. The exercise featured precision strikes against simulated enemy air‑defence sites, followed by swarming unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that overloaded residual defences and fed real‑time targeting data back to ground commanders.​

In addition to classic artillery and rocket systems, the drills validated new concepts for using loitering munitions, FPV drones, and networked surveillance assets to support Army formations along sensitive frontiers. Commanders highlighted that these tactics are meant to deter escalation by demonstrating the ability to deliver rapid, accurate firepower across land and sea while keeping Indian personnel out of direct harm’s way.​​

Defence planners see this as part of a broader push towards indigenous, high‑tech capabilities, including advanced air‑defence systems, next‑generation ballistic and cruise missiles, and AI‑enabled decision‑support tools. Officials have stressed that combining domestic innovation with selective foreign partnerships will be crucial to maintaining credible deterrence against emerging regional threats in the Indo‑Pacific