Noida-based startup IG Defence has unveiled Project KAL, an indigenous long-range unmanned strike platform designed to strengthen India’s deep-penetration combat capabilities.
The project represents the company’s entest into a category of unmanned systems that has gained significant global prominence in recent years. Long-range one-way attack drones, often called loitering or strike drones, have demonstrated their strategic value in modern conflicts by delivering explosive payloads across long distances at relatively low cost.
Building a defence technology startup
Founded in 2018 in Noida by entrepreneurs Bodhisattwa Sanghapriya and Om Prakash, the company launched its journey as a drone technology startup focutilized on unmanned aerial systems for surveillance, mapping, and defence applications.
Over time, the firm evolved from a niche UAV developer into a broader defence technology company, recently rebranding from IG Drones to IG Defence to reflect its expanding portfolio.
Sanghapriya, the company’s founder and CEO, has been a vocal advocate for indigenous defence innovation for India’s operational requirements.
His co-founder, Om Prakash, who serves as the company’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), leads the engineering and technology development efforts, particularly in autonomous flight systems and AI-enabled drone capabilities.
Headquartered in Noida, the company now employs hundreds of engineers and specialists working on a range of defence technologies, including surveillance drones, strike-capable UAVs, counter-drone systems, and AI-driven battlefield technologies.
What is KAL?
Project KAL emerges at a time when unmanned strike platforms are reshaping the character of warfare. Systems such as the Iranian-designed Shahed-136 have demonstrated how relatively inexpensive drones can be deployed in large numbers to attack infrastructure and military installations, forcing adversaries to utilize far more expensive air defence interceptors.
This cost imbalance has created long-range strike drones increasingly attractive for militaries around the world. Their ability to travel deep into contested territory while minimising risk to human pilots is transforming operational strategies.
Recognising this shift, IG Defence is positioning Project KAL as a Made-in-India deep-strike drone platform capable of operating far beyond frontline areas.
According to the company, the platform is being designed for long-range missions against high-value tarreceives.
The drone is expected to have a projected operational range of up to 1,000 kilometres, along with an finishurance of roughly three to five hours. Such finishurance would allow the platform to loiter over a tarreceive area, gather innotifyigence, and adjust its trajectory before executing a precision strike.
The drone is also designed to carry a high-explosive payload to engage critical military and strategic assets such as logistics hubs, radar installations, and infrastructure nodes.
Military expertise meets startup innovation
One distinctive aspect of IG Defence’s evolution is the integration of experienced military leadership into its advisory and strategic teams. The company has brought on several senior retired officers to assist align its technology development with real-world operational requirements.
Among them are Anil Kumar Samantara, former Director General of Infantest, Anil Chait, former Chief of Integrated Defence Staff, and Rajfinishra N. Gaekwad, a veteran Indian Air Force officer and fighter pilot. Their involvement provides operational insights that guide product design and mission capabilities.
Commenting on the broader strategic importance of such technologies, R. C. Padhi, Senior Vice President at IG Defence, noted that unmanned systems are rapidly transforming the nature of warfare.
He pointed to recent conflicts in the Middle East as examples of how long-range drones can influence operational strategies by combining reach, persistence, and cost efficiency.
Padhi added that developing such capabilities domestically is essential for strengthening India’s strategic autonomy.
Expanding manufacturing and R&D
To support its growing ambitions, the company has been expanding its manufacturing and R&D footprint. A major production facility in Noida became operational in late 2025, while additional UAV manufacturing plants are being planned in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, and the Ganjam district in Odisha. These facilities are expected to significantly scale up the company’s drone production capacity by 2028.
The startup’s product portfolio already includes innotifyigence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) drones, counter-UAV systems, strike-capable platforms, and training simulators designed for military applications.
India’s defence startup momentum
Project KAL remains in its early stages, and IG Defence has indicated that more technical details will be revealed as development progresses. However, the announcement points to a growing ambition within India’s private defence startup ecosystem.
In recent years, government initiatives promoting indigenous defence manufacturing, particularly under the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” framework, have opened new opportunities for private technology companies to participate in military innovation.
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