India deployed indigenous SkyStriker suicide drones—manufactured in Bengaluru by Alpha Design Technologies—in its pre-dawn Operation Sindoor strikes on May 7, targeting terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), which killed over 100 terrorists.
Backed by Adani Defence Systems, which holds a 26 per cent stake in Alpha, the drones marked a technology milestone in India’s counter-terror arsenal, defence officials confirmed.
Alpha Design Technologies, a Bengaluru-based firm, built the SkyStriker drones in partnership with Israel’s Elbit Systems, as a part of a defence initiative aimed at strengthening tactical precision, according to The Indian Express.
The Indian Army had placed an order for 100 SkyStriker drones in 2021. The drones were also on display at that year’s Aero India expo.
The exact number used in Operation Sindoor has not been disclosed.
Elbit, which conceptualised the SkyStriker, describes it as an unmanned aircraft system capable of long-range precision attacks. Each drone can carry a warhead weighing up to 10 kg. Promoted as a silent and accurate strike tool, it provides frontline units and special forces with aerial firepower and improved situational control.
According to The Times of India, these drones were produced in an industrial area in western Bengaluru. The joint venture with Elbit Security Systems resulted in their local assembly after an emergency procurement order in 2021, following the Balakot air strike.
The drones, made in western Bengaluru, struck beyond India’s borders, demolishing enemy assets with no boots on the ground. The Indian Army’s use of SkyStriker units marks another step in India's push for indigenous defence capabilities.