The IAF has projected an initial requirement of 20 such systems

With hostile swarm drones posing an ever-increasing threat in today’s battlefield environment, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has sought “Kamikaze” drone system to protect vital installations from swarms of enemy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

The IAF has projected an initial requirement of 20 such systems.

The term Kamikaze dates back to the Second World War where Japanese aircraft loaded with explosives or bombs made deliberate suicidal crashes on enemy targets.

The Kamikaze anti-swarm systems are planned to be used to defend against swarm drones which may attack the vital areas or vital points from multiple directions. Once swarm drones are detected, kamikaze drones can be directed towards them, says a request for information (RFI) issued by the IAF on January 8.

These kamikaze drones with attached explosives will attack the incoming drones by exploding in their vicinity. The system will also be capable of providing the soft-kill solution, based on jamming of radio frequency links between the drones and ground controller and their satellite navigation systems.

For a new way of releasing destructive force on the enemy, swarm drones will play a dominant role in conflicts of the future since they are relatively inexpensive and can easily be manufactured, the RFI adds. Swarm drones are a group of several drones operated simultaneously as a single entity by a one controller to meet a specific objective.

The IAF wants a vehicle-mounted system capable of operating in all weather conditions and launching multiple Kamikaze drones that can autonomously intercept and explode in vicinity of the rogue UAVs that can vary from micro drones weighing less than 250 grams to large drones weighing over 200 kg.

It should provide multi-sensor-based comprehensive solution involving radio frequency detection, radar, electro-optic and infrared to provide a composite air situation picture to the controllers for detection, tracking, identification, designation and neutralisation of multiple enemy swarms simultaneously.

The armed forces are already using several types of drones for various purposes as well as counter-measure systems, some of which have been developed indigenously, while others have been sourced from overseas vendors.