Indian Army demonstrates its destructive 75-strong drone swarm

The Indian Army has demonstrated its destructive drone swarm during the recent annual Army Day Parade 2021 held last week. The drones captured by the various camera angles appear to be different, suggesting they have different battlefield tasks.

The larger mothership drones are equipped with a smaller drone, which drops and directly hits a selected target. Before hitting the targets, the “child drones” gain control and realign themselves with the target.

Simultaneously, another group of drones hits the sky, providing surveillance over the target area to see if the hit was successful. The trajectories are also updated during this time, allowing the kamikaze drone to fly right into the target and blow upon impact.

Another type of drone is then shown, equipped with downward-facing cameras using AI to detect enemy locations and equipment. The drones then send the info to the kamikaze drones in the area, which hit the targets accordingly.

The demonstration then turns its attention to loitering drones equipped with bombs. The drones drop the bombs on the target and fly off back to the take-off point, which allows it to be reused on another mission, unlike the kamikaze drones.

Due to safety issues, the demonstration switches to less-destructive drones. These drones performed a drop and retrieve mission to deliver medical supplies, while another drone was dropping a package using a parachute. A swarm of 75 cargo drones can deliver up to 600 kg (1,322 lbs) to selected drop-off points.

The large 75-strong drone swarm showed off in the video appears to be pre-programmed from the targets – meaning the drones didn’t find the targets on their own for the demonstration. However, the number of drones in the air at a time all doing different tasks was impressive to see and is a true glimpse into the future. There’s no doubt that when these drones are used in real-world situations, they will be flying autonomously.

Be sure to check out the full 21-minute demonstration below. The video’s commentator also speaks in English, making it easier for the rest of the world to understand what’s going on.

Photo: Doordarshan National