The Ministry of Defence signed contracts worth ₹1,577 crore with TATA Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and NIBE Private Limited on 14 August 2026 in New Delhi for the supply of Loiter Munition Systems, along with munitions and accessories, to the Indian Army. The contracts cover 84 loiter munition systems carrying 840 loitering munitions capable of striking targets up to 100 km away. This is the largest single order of its kind placed for the Indian armed forces, and it is expected to sharply strengthen the precision-strike capability of the Army’s Artillery Regiments.
What Is a Loitering Munition System?
A Loitering Munition System is an unmanned aerial vehicle that carries an onboard warhead, flies to an area, and waits, or loiters, above the battlefield before diving into a target and exploding on impact. It combines the patience of a surveillance drone with the destructive power of a guided missile, which is why it is also popularly called a kamikaze drone or a one-way attack drone.
The system works in three stages. First, it is launched and flies to the designated target area using autonomous navigation. Second, it circles overhead, searching for the target while an operator watches a live video feed and decides whether to strike. Third, once the target is confirmed, the munition crashes into it and detonates. Many systems also allow the operator to abort the attack up to a few seconds before impact and re-engage a different target, or even recover the munition safely after an aborted mission.
These weapons became a defining feature of modern warfare during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and, more visibly, the Russia-Ukraine war, where both sides used loitering munitions such as the ZALA Lancet and Switchblade to hunt enemy artillery, radar sites, air defence systems, and supply convoys. Their appeal lies in their cost: a single loitering munition is far cheaper than a cruise missile, yet accurate enough to destroy high-value targets, forcing armies to disperse and protect their assets constantly.
The Contract at a Glance
The Ministry of Defence divided the order between the two companies after a competitive tender. TATA Advanced Systems Limited, the lowest bidder (L-1), will supply the larger share, while NIBE Private Limited, the second-lowest bidder (L-2), will provide the rest. The total procurement includes 84 loiter munition systems, 840 loitering munitions, and the associated accessories needed to operate them.
| Parameter | TATA Advanced Systems (L-1) | NIBE (L-2) |
|---|---|---|
| Systems supplied | 54 loiter munition systems | 30 loiter munition systems |
| Munitions supplied | 540 | 300 |
| Share of order | 64% | 36% |
| Approximate value | ₹1,013.77 crore | ₹563.36 crore |
The loitering munitions ordered under these contracts are long-range systems with a strike range of more than 100 kilometres. They are designed to operate in heavily jammed environments, with built-in resistance to electronic interference such as jamming and spoofing. Delivery is expected to be completed within 12 months of signing the contracts, which means the Army could begin inducting the systems as early as mid-2027.
Why the Army Needs Loitering Munitions
The contract comes at a time when modern conflicts have proven that drones and precision weapons decide the outcome of battles as much as tanks and guns do. The Russia-Ukraine war and the Iran-US conflict have shown how relatively cheap unmanned systems can knock out far more expensive assets, and India has closely studied these lessons.
A loitering munition gives the artillery a weapon that can wait for the right moment to strike. A conventional artillery shell follows a fixed trajectory and hits whatever is at its impact point. A loitering munition, by contrast, can hover over a battlefield, identify a moving or concealed target such as a missile launcher, a radar, or an armoured vehicle, and then attack it with high precision. This makes it especially valuable for counter-battery operations, where the Army must destroy enemy artillery before it can relocate.
The systems being bought can strike targets up to 100 km away without exposing soldiers or manned aircraft to enemy fire. When operated alongside surveillance drones, they allow a commander to complete what the Army calls the sensor-to-shooter loop, where a reconnaissance drone spots a target and the loitering munition immediately engages it. The munitions have also been tested in demanding high-altitude conditions, including at altitudes above 14,000 feet, confirming their suitability for the mountainous borders in the north.
Procurement Under Buy (Indian) and Fast Track
Defence acquisitions in India are governed by the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP), the official rulebook of the Ministry of Defence that replaced the earlier Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP). The DAP classifies every acquisition into categories based on how much of the equipment is designed and made in India. For this procurement, the Ministry chose the Buy (Indian) category, which means the equipment must be sourced from Indian vendors, with preference given to indigenously designed and manufactured systems.
The acquisition was processed through the Fast Track Procedure (FTP), a special route meant for equipment that is urgently needed and already available from domestic vendors. The FTP shortens the long approval and trial cycles of normal procurement so that critical capability reaches the forces quickly. The Ministry of Defence described the Loiter Munition System as critical equipment developed to strengthen the capability of Artillery Regiments and improve the Army’s overall operational effectiveness.
This dual choice of the Buy (Indian) category and the Fast Track Procedure carries a clear policy message. It signals both the urgency of the operational requirement and the government’s determination to route a growing share of defence spending towards Indian manufacturers, in line with the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative for self-reliance in defence production.
The Companies Behind the Deal
TATA Advanced Systems Limited
TATA Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), established in 2006 and headquartered in Hyderabad, is the aerospace and defence arm of the Tata Group. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons. The company is a leading Indian private player in aerospace and defence, working on aerostructures, satellites, missiles, radars, unmanned systems, and artillery guns, with manufacturing facilities in Hyderabad and Nagpur.
For this contract, TASL has developed its own loitering munition platform, the Advanced Loitering System (ALS). The system has already undergone rigorous Army testing in high-altitude areas such as Siachen, and it has been showcased at defence events. The company is separately developing even longer-range systems. TASL’s participation confirms the maturity of the Indian private sector in designing, developing, and manufacturing complete weapons, a capability that was largely confined to government agencies a decade ago.
NIBE Limited
NIBE Limited is a Pune-based private defence technology company. It recently signed its first major artillery contract when the Army placed an emergency procurement order in January 2026 for its Suryastra, India’s first indigenous universal multi-calibre rocket launcher system, along with rockets capable of striking targets at 150 km and 300 km.
For the loiter munition order, NIBE will supply its Vayuastra system, a loitering munition based on the Skystriker platform of Israeli firm Elbit Systems, produced under collaboration in India. The Vayuastra demonstrated a 100 km strike range in trials, hitting a target with a circular error probable (CEP) of less than one metre, which means its impact point landed within one metre of the designated aim point. It also showed the ability to abort and re-attack, conduct strikes at night using infrared cameras, and fly for more than 90 minutes at altitudes above 14,000 feet.
A New Era for Indian Artillery
This order is part of a wider transformation of the Indian Army, announced as its Decade of Transformation for the period 2023 to 2032. As part of this reform, the artillery arm is being reorganized around drone-led, precision-strike warfare rather than firepower alone.
The Army has been raising new specialised formations for this purpose. The Shaktibaan regiments are technology-driven artillery regiments equipped with drones and loitering munitions for see-and-strike missions. The Divyastra batteries integrate drones into the artillery kill chain for surveillance, target acquisition, and precision strikes. Around 15 to 20 Shaktibaan regiments are planned. Alongside these, the Army has introduced Rudra all-arms brigades, Bhairav light commando battalions, and drone platoons within infantry battalions. Several of these formations, along with indigenous and foreign loitering munitions, were showcased at the 77th Republic Day parade in January 2026.
A limited number of artillery regiments and batteries have already been equipped with loiter munition systems under an earlier phase, and the new order extends this capability to more units. In effect, the ₹1,577 crore contract is not an isolated purchase. It is the induction pipeline for an artillery arm that is turning from a traditional firepower force into a networked, sensor-driven strike force that can engage targets from a few kilometres to deep inside contested territory.
Boosting Indigenous Defence Manufacturing
The contract is a significant milestone for India’s private defence industry, which has grown rapidly under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat push. Awarding a major order to two private companies, rather than government-owned defence units, reflects the expanding role of the private sector in the country’s defence ecosystem.
The numbers underline this growth. India’s annual defence production touched a record ₹1.78 lakh crore in FY 2025-26, with the private sector contributing 24% of the total, its highest-ever share of about ₹42,000 crore. Defence exports reached an all-time high of ₹38,424 crore in the same year, with private companies accounting for roughly 45%. The government has set targets of ₹3 lakh crore in annual production and ₹50,000 crore in exports by 2029.
Orders of this kind do more than supply the Army. They create a demand base that encourages companies to invest in design, component manufacturing, and maintenance, building an entire domestic ecosystem around loitering munition technology. An indigenous industrial base also reduces dependence on foreign supply chains, a critical advantage during emergencies. The Army had earlier relied on systems such as the SkyStriker procured from an Indo-Israeli joint venture, and the new contract shows how that early dependence is now giving way to Indian companies supplying the bulk of the requirement.
Key Takeaways
- The Ministry of Defence signed contracts worth ₹1,577 crore with TATA Advanced Systems Limited and NIBE Private Limited on 14 August 2026 for 84 loiter munition systems carrying 840 loitering munitions for the Indian Army.
- The procurement covers long-range loitering munitions with a strike range of more than 100 km and was made under the Buy (Indian) category through the Fast Track Procedure (FTP).
- TASL (L-1) will supply 54 systems and 540 munitions worth about ₹1,013.77 crore, while NIBE (L-2) will supply 30 systems and 300 munitions worth about ₹563.36 crore.
- A loitering munition, also called a kamikaze drone or one-way attack drone, is an unmanned aerial vehicle that loiters over a battlefield, identifies a target, and then crashes into it to detonate its onboard warhead.
- The order supports the Army’s Decade of Transformation (2023 to 2032), under which new Shaktibaan regiments and Divyastra batteries are being raised to integrate drones and loitering munitions into artillery operations.
- The deal boosts India’s private defence industry, which contributed about ₹42,000 crore (24% of output) to a record defence production of ₹1.78 lakh crore in FY 2025-26.
