Indian Army establishes drone training facility at Madras Regimental Centre

The Indian Army’s Dakshin Bharat Area (DBA) has established a drone training facility at the Madras Regimental Centre (MRC) in Wellington, Ooty, Tamil Nadu. The core purpose of this newly established facility is to train personnel on the basic operation of drones and help them understand the technical details and hardware of the drones and enable troops to identify technical faults in the drones and troubleshoot them themselves.

A course curriculum has been formulated to impart theoretical and practical training on basic aspects of drone flying, flying beyond visual range, manoeuvring amidst winds, navigation, and operating drones amid challenging situations such as jamming/interference, officials said. They say this training would be initially imparted to Agniveers, the personnel recruited under the Agnipath scheme in the Indian Armed Forces. Agniveer signifies a new rank for soldiers, airmen, and sailors serving a four-year term.

In the long run, this drone training is likely to be conducted for personnel in all units of the Army. This initiative is being undertaken in partnership with Indian startups. “When firing a rifle, if there is an issue with the rifle, one has to independently resolve the issue and do so immediately. Likewise, with drones, pilots must not just fly them, but they must have an understanding of the drones’ working, their components, and troubleshooting. That is a crucial skill that needs to be imparted along with drone flying training,” explained a senior official.

The proposal for this facility was a result of technical interactions between Lt. Gen. Karanbir Singh Brar, General Officer Commanding, Dakshin Bharat Area, Indian Army, and drone firm Zuppa. “The real challenge in drone warfare lies not just in flying them, but in understanding the intricate electronic systems—especially the impact of high electromagnetic fields (EMF) on sensitive onboard sensors,” said Sai Pattabiram, Founder & MD, Zuppa. “That’s what our lab will offer—a hands-on, tech-intensive learning framework built for scale,” he added.

According to officials, more Indian drone makers would be involved in such initiatives to impart training to the Army personnel at various establishments across the country, and this training is likely to cover personnel from various ranks and specialisations. With drones playing a critical role—from surveillance to real-time monitoring of operations, payload delivery—such training could prove crucial in the era of drone warfare.