Domestic defence and drone startups are experiencing increased demand as the ongoing conflict with Pakistan drives the Indian military to enhance its stockpile.

India must achieve scale by leveraging its manufacturing and engineering strengths, rather than depending on outside suppliers.

Industry specialists indicated that Israel's advancement in cutting-edge defense technologies stemmed from the need created by conflicts, subsequently reaping rewards from substantial export contracts. India has not encountered the same level of urgency yet; however, they stressed that stakeholders must work together if the nation's sovereignty is at risk.

Vishal Saxena, vice president at ideaForge Technology says, "Capacities cannot be built in a day. During peacetime, people do realise the importance of building a military-industrial complex, but it often comes too late. Warfare has changed, and technology is now absolutely critical. Relying on foreign technology is a vulnerability during critical times in today's battlefield.”

IdeaForge's drone solutions--built for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission--have been deployed in 'Operation Sindoor'. The startup placed on ground team to make any upgrades and support the military during the conflict. Industry stakeholders highlighted that the current geopolitical scenario has brought to fore the inefficiencies of relying on expensive missiles to defend against low-cost drone threats.

"The unit economics of using a Rs. 2.5 crore missile to take down a Rs.25,000 drone don't work. Our counter-drone technology aims to bring down the cost to below Rs.10 lakh, by using drones to take down other drones instead of using missiles," says Santosh Balajee Banisetty, founder of Zebu Intelligence Systems.

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Prof Satya Chakravarthy, who teaches aerospace engineering at IIT Madras, and founded The ePlane Company-a maker of eVOLT all-electric air taxi and drones-said he has received multiple inquiries from current and ex-defence personnel as well as defence-linked companies.