NEW DELHI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh revealed on Sunday that an advanced version of the Nagastra drone, which was extensively used during Operation Sindoor to “accurately strike terrorist targets”, has been developed. He said that the Nagpur-based Solar Defence and Aerospace Plant, which developed Nagastra, has also developed ‘Bhargavastra’, a micro-missile-based system, having conducted a successful test-launch.Rajnath stressed that the govt is focusing on ensuring that the private sector’s contribution in defence manufacturing reaches 50% or more in coming times.Inaugurating a medium-calibre ammunition manufacturing facility at the company’s plant in Nagpur, Rajnath said, “We witnessed the brilliance of your (company’s) ingenuity in Operation Sindoor. The Nagastra drone developed by this group was successfully deployed. This drone struck precisely those who harboured ill intentions towards our country.” Lauding the development of a more advanced version of Nagastra, the minister said, “One never knows when it might be needed, given that our neighbour is so unpredictable.”Nagastra-1 is a ‘kamikaze’ (suicide) drone that can search and destroy any target by crashing into it. Bhargavastra, on the other hand, is India’s first indigenous, low-cost counter-drone system, developed to neutralise hostile drone swarms using micro-rockets and guided micro-missiles, featuring radar detection of up to 6 km and engagement of up to 2.5 km.The newly inaugurated facility is a fully automated plant manufacturing 30mm ammunition, which is extensively used by the Indian Army and Navy. Rajnath also visited the Pinaka rocket manufacturing facility and flagged off the first tranche of guided Pinaka rockets bound for Armenia.He said that Op Sindoor had lasted for approximately 88 hours, but the sheer scale and intensity of those 88 hours couldn’t be described in words. “In such operations, every minute, every decision and every resource is crucial. If we look around today, we see various kinds of wars. One thing becomes clear: warfare is becoming increasingly complex, and its intensity is constantly increasing. In such a situation, preparation for wars should be done on a war footing.”Rajnath recalled the time when ammunition shortages hampered the country’s defence preparedness, making the govt realise the need to become self-reliant in the field. Commending the contribution of private enterprises to making the defence sector ‘Aatmanirbhar’, he said the nation is steadily marching forward in ammunition production, manufacturing quality and reliable products. “In such a situation, increased involvement of the private sector in manufacturing and research & development is the need of the hour,” he added.
