Defence-focused websites reported between 12 and 14 November 2026 that 11 Indian companies are competing in an Indian Army programme to buy 540 jet-powered kamikaze drones, with field trials at the Pokhran range in Rajasthan. The reports put the programme at about ₹2,000 crore, which is ₹20 billion (Lens arithmetic; one crore is 10 million). The Indian government has officially confirmed only part of this. On 3 July 2026 its Defence Acquisition Council approved a Jet Based Kamikaze Drone System for the Army at the first stage of procurement. The ministry’s release gives no quantity, cost or list of companies. This post is current as of 14 November 2026.

What the government has stated

The Press Information Bureau (PIB), the Indian government’s press office, published the Ministry of Defence release. It says the Defence Acquisition Council, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, granted Acceptance of Necessity on 3 July 2026 to acquisition proposals worth about ₹52,000 crore across the armed forces. The release describes Acceptance of Necessity as in-principle administrative approval. The Army items include the Jet Based Kamikaze Drone System, which the release says provides better electronic warfare capability with greater lethality and survivability at a cost-effective level. The Defense News, a defence website, describes Acceptance of Necessity as the first stage before tendering and contract negotiations.

What defence websites report

  • Scale and process: the Army plans to buy 540 systems through the Fast Track Procurement mechanism for about ₹2,000 crore, with the competition reserved for Indian companies (defence.in, The Defense News, Indian Defence News, Indian Masterminds). Whalesbook mentioned the 540 figure on 30 October 2026, before the trials were reported.
  • Selection: about 60 firms answered an Army Request for Information in July 2026, 18 submitted bids and 11 qualified for trials (defence.in, The Defense News, Indian Masterminds).
  • Companies named: Bharat Forge with VEDA Aeronautics, Adani Defence, NIBE, SMPP with NewSpace Research and Technologies, Tonbo, Munitions India Limited and Apollo Micro Systems (defence.in, The Defense News). Indian Masterminds says the Ministry of Defence has not publicly confirmed the full list of 11.
  • What bidders must show: complete systems, meaning the drones, transport vehicles and vehicles for mission planning and briefing.
  • Speed: the websites say jet-powered munitions fly at about 450 km/h, against 150 to 200 km/h for propeller-driven ones.

Background

ThePrint reported on 11 June 2026 that the Army had received 106 jet-powered kamikaze drones from the Delhi-based firm SMPP under emergency procurement: 100 strike drones and six for training. ThePrint gave the drone’s speed as 450 km/h and its range as about 180 km, and said SMPP’s statement cited a Circular Error Probable (a measure of strike precision) of under five metres. The drone is called Peacekeeper or Agniveg.

Where reports differ

  • Number of firms: defence.in, The Defense News and Indian Masterminds say 11. Indian Defence News says 10 cleared the first stage and lists Zen Technologies, which the other lists do not include.
  • Trial status: defence.in and The Defense News say trials start “this week”. Indian Defence News, dated 12 November, says they have begun. Indian Masterminds, dated 14 November, says they are expected.
  • Approval date: PIB gives 3 July 2026. defence.in, The Defense News and Indian Defence News give 26 October 2026 as the date of the approval for this system. Coverage of the 26 October council meeting (Bharat Shakti, Organiser) lists a different item, a Long Range Kamikaze Drone System. Indian Masterminds gives 3 July 2026 for the jet-based system and ties 26 October to the long-range one.

Sources and notes

Read in full: the PIB release of 3 July 2026, Indian Masterminds, defence.in, The Defense News, Indian Defence News, Whalesbook and ThePrint. The programme figures (540 drones, ₹2,000 crore, the 60, 18 and 11 firm counts, the company names and the trial status) appear only in the defence websites, which name no common original source and use similar wording, so they may not be independent of one another. Lens found no Army or ministry statement, Request for Information, request for proposals or tender document carrying these figures, and no report on the programme from ThePrint or another large national outlet; Lens’s search tool could not query the Economic Times, Hindustan Times or Times of India. idrw.org (10 November) was seen only as a fetch summary, which says the Army evaluations fall under a Fast Track requirement and names VEDA Aeronautics as a bidder.

Image: Soldiers fly small multirotor drones during a joint equipment exchange at Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2026 in Auli, India, 18 September 2026. Photo: Maj. Ian Roth, U.S. Army (public domain as a work of the US federal government), via Wikimedia Commons. Stand-in image: not a photo of the jet-powered kamikaze drones in the Indian Army programme.