What is the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) 'Nagastra'?

April 22, 2023

Solar Industries Nagpur recently bagged an order to supply the UAV 'Nagastra' to the Indian Army, beating competitors from Israel and Poland.

About Nagastra:

It is India's first indigenous loitering munition which can strike enemy targets with precision.
It has been designed and developed by Economics Explosives Ltd (EEL), a 100 per cent subsidiary of Solar Industries Nagpur, in association with Z-Motion, Bangalore.
It has an indigenous content of more than 75 per cent.
Features:
- It can neutralize any hostile threat with GPS-enabled precision strikes with an accuracy of 2 m.
- It has an endurance of 60 min with a man-in-loop range of 15 km and an autonomous mode range of 30 km.
- In addition to day-night surveillance cameras, it is equipped with fragmenting warhead to defeat soft-skin targets.
- In case a target is not detected or if the mission is aborted, the loiter munition can be called back and made a soft landing with a parachute recovery mechanism, enabling it to be reused multiple times.
Why is it called a loitering munition?
- The Nagastra can loiter around in the air and strike when the target reaches the spot.
- It hits in a kamikaze mode (suicidal attack), destroying the target and itself.