India's laser weapons can destroy drones for just a few hundred rupees: Former DRDO DG

India's indigenous laser weapons could destroy hostile drones for just a few hundred rupees per engagement, offering the armed forces a potentially decisive advantage as militaries worldwide struggle with the rising cost of countering inexpensive unmanned aircraft.

Speaking exclusively to WION's Defence Pulse, Prof Hari Babu Srivastava, former Director General, Technology Management, DRDO, and former Director of the Laser Science and Technology Centre (LASTEC), said India has already demonstrated the technology needed to achieve extremely low-cost laser engagements. “We have already done it,” Srivastava said when asked whether India could match American laser systems that reportedly destroy drones for less than five dollars per engagement.

He explained that the immediate cost of firing a laser largely comes down to the electricity consumed in generating the beam.

India's DRDO successfully demonstrated its indigenous 30-kilowatt Mk-II(A) laser-directed energy weapon in April 2025 at Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. The system demonstrated its ability to engage drones and disable surveillance sensors. According to Srivastava, the technology is now progressing towards production, with DRDO initiating the process of transferring the capability to Indian industry.

The development comes as the United States accelerates its own directed-energy programme. In September 2026, the US Army awarded a contract worth approximately $465 million to AeroVironment for its LOCUST laser counter-drone systems.

From drone defence to missile interception

Srivastava believes India's directed-energy ambitions can extend well beyond countering small drones.

He explained that more powerful laser systems, particularly those operating at higher altitudes, could eventually provide capabilities against more challenging aerial threats.

A 100-kilowatt laser, he suggested, could potentially engage drones at distances approaching 10 kilometres under favourable conditions, although actual performance would depend heavily on atmospheric conditions and other operational factors.

Looking further ahead, he identified airborne laser weapons as a promising direction for military research. Lasers mounted on fighter aircraft could benefit from operating above clouds and atmospheric disturbances, potentially improving their effectiveness against aerial targets.

However, intercepting missiles would require considerably greater power, possibly exceeding one megawatt of continuous laser output for certain applications.

Why lasers will not replace missiles

Despite their potential, Srivastava cautioned against assuming that laser weapons will make conventional air-defence missiles obsolete. He described lasers as weapons whose effectiveness depends heavily on weather conditions.

Dust storms, clouds and atmospheric interference can significantly degrade laser performance, making conventional missiles and guns indispensable.

Drone swarms present another challenge. A laser generally engages one target at a time, whereas high-power microwave weapons could potentially disrupt the electronics of multiple drones within a wider area. Srivastava said these two directed-energy technologies would therefore complement each other in future air-defence systems.

India's advance in combining hundreds of laser beams

In a significant disclosure, Prof Hari Babu Srivastava, former Director General, Technology Management, DRDO, said India has demonstrated the ability to combine multiple laser beams to generate higher power levels, a critical technology for developing next-generation directed-energy weapons.

Explaining the engineering challenge, Srivastava said that generating laser outputs of 100 kilowatts, 300 kilowatts or even one megawatt requires sophisticated beam-combining techniques.

“We generate this power by combining several beams, hundreds of beams actually,” he explained.

According to Srivastava, only a handful of countries have mastered this highly specialised technology.

He added that India has also developed the capability, stating that the country has demonstrated its expertise in combining laser beams to achieve higher power.

Currently a Professor of Practice at IIT Delhi, his assessment points to a significant opportunity for India's defence industry.

As inexpensive drones increasingly challenge conventional air defence economics, indigenous directed-energy weapons could allow India to intercept suitable threats at substantially lower marginal costs while preserving expensive missiles for targets that demand them.