Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
Loitering Munition
"An unmanned aerial weapon that can loiter over an area for extended periods before striking a target, combining characteristics of both drones and missiles"
A loitering munition (also called a 'kamikaze drone' or 'suicide drone') is an unmanned aerial system that can fly to a designated area, orbit (loiter) while searching for targets, and then dive onto the target to destroy it with an onboard warhead. Unlike conventional missiles that follow a fixed trajectory, loitering munitions can be redirected, recalled, or aborted mid-flight. They combine the persistent surveillance capability of drones with the precision strike capability of guided munitions. India's indigenous Nagastra-1, developed by Economic Explosives Limited (Solar Industries, Nagpur) in collaboration with Z-Motion Autonomous Systems, is a key example — it has a range of 30-40 km in autonomous mode, 60 minutes endurance, and GPS/NavIC guidance with 2-metre accuracy.
Loitering munitions have become a decisive weapon in modern warfare, as demonstrated in the Russia-Ukraine conflict where FPV drones costing USD 400 destroyed tanks worth USD 8-10 million each. For UPSC, this concept is relevant for GS-3 (defence technology, internal security) and connects to India's Shaurya Squadrons, iDEX programme, Drone Shakti scheme, and defence indigenisation.
- 1 Combines features of a drone (loitering, surveillance) and a missile (precision strike)
- 2 Can be recalled or redirected mid-flight, unlike conventional missiles
- 3 India's Nagastra-1 has 80%+ indigenous content; 480 units delivered to Indian Army (December 2024)
- 4 Indian Army plans to procure nearly 30,000 loitering munitions
- 5 Israel's Harop and Poland's Warmate are prominent international examples
- 6 Cost asymmetry makes them highly effective against expensive armoured vehicles
- 7 Indian Army's Shaurya Squadrons integrate loitering munitions with armoured regiments
During Exercise Amogh Jwala (March 2026), the Indian Army's Shaurya Squadrons demonstrated loitering munition strikes coordinated with Pinaka rocket launchers and armoured formations.