Indian Army integrates high power microwave weapons to combat small UAVs
The war in Ukraine not only demonstrated the effectiveness of drones, but also confirmed the need to develop means of countering them.
At the moment, there are several most effective ways to counter UAVs: mobile teams with large-calibre machine guns, traditional air defence systems/ MANPADS, anti-aircraft drones(an experimental development of Ukrainian engineers) and REB means.
But the Indian Army is betting on an alternative method of UAV suppression.
Here's What We Know
According to Army Recognition, the Indian armed forces are actively engaged in the integration of High-Power Microwave Systems/HPM.
According to Indian military officials, this method will provide the ability to detect, track and neutralise small aerial threats within a radius of up to 5 km.
It is separately stressed that the Indian army plans to use microwave weapons against small FPV drones, as it is difficult to shoot them down with fire-attack systems due to their manoeuvrability, small size and high speed of movement.
HPM systems use electromagnetic waves to disrupt the electronic systems of drones, causing them to malfunction without physical damage, and there is nothing to counter this at the moment.
The integration of microwave weapons comes under the Aatmanirbharta (Self-Sufficient India) initiative, which implies that at least 50 per cent of components for military hardware and equipment should be of Indian origin.
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Source: Army Recognition