'India must invest in sensors': Maj Gen RC Padhi on building combat drones for GPS-denied war

Long-range attack drones are transforming modern warfare, but their effectiveness increasingly depends on what happens after satellite navigation and communications are disrupted.
Speaking to me on Defence Pulse, Major General RC Padhi, Senior Vice President at IG Defence, said navigation resilience will be critical as electronic warfare becomes a routine feature of the battlefield.

Fighting when GPS disappears

Gen. Padhi explained that adversaries can attempt to jam or degrade satellite navigation signals, forcing unmanned systems to rely on alternative technologies.
He pointed to CRPA antennas, which are designed to resist satellite-navigation jamming, and inertial measurement units or IMUs. An IMU uses onboard sensors, including gyroscopes, to track a platform's movement and help it continue navigating even when external signals are unavailable.

More sophisticated systems can also employ seekers, although Gen. Padhi said these can substantially increase the cost of the system. The larger objective is to prevent a long-range attack drone from becoming ineffective simply because its communications or satellite-navigation link has been disrupted.

India’s sensor challenge

For India, Gen. Padhi believes the bigger challenge lies beyond building the drone airframe. “A drone is a platform and it is a system,” he said, pointing to sensors, warheads and electronics as critical components. Among these, he identified indigenous sensors as a particularly important capability requiring greater investment. He also highlighted engines, robotics, artificial intelligence and quantum technologies as areas where domestic capabilities will increasingly matter as unmanned platforms become more autonomous.