From HAROP to CATS Warrior: Meet India’s 7 most advanced combat drones in 2025
To change the face of modern warfare, India is gradually encouraging the advancement of military technology with the increasing drones, in addition to nuclear fighter jets, submarines, ships, missiles, and guns. Let's have a look at the top 7 advanced drones of India.
7. DRDO Rustom Series
A variant of the Rustom Series, Lakshya-1, is used to perform discreet aerial reconnaissance of the battlefield and target acquisition. It has been targeting drones for live-fire training since 2000. The Abhyas drone is a high-speed expendable target drone employed for anti-aircraft training.
6. HAROP Drone
India employed the advanced military HAROP Drone during ‘Operation Sindoor,’ targeting multiple locations, including the two largest cities, Karachi and Lahore. The range of this drone is up to 1000 km, and it can carry a 23 kg high-explosive warhead and can loiter over target zones for up to 9 hours.
5. FWD-LM01 (Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace)
It is a new loitering munition developed by Bengaluru-based Flying Wedge Defence and Aerospace (FWDA). This is the first fully indigenous export-ready loitering munition with a range of 100 kilometres on foreign soil, and it can be deployed in 5 minutes. The best part of it is that once launched, the system can loiter in the air for up to 1.5 hours, climb to altitudes of 17,000 feet, and strike with a 2 kg explosive payload.
4. Nagastra-1 & Nagastra Series
The Nagastra series was developed by Solar Industries India, which highlights India’s growing strength in indigenous drone manufacturing. With a range of 30–40 kilometres, Nagastra-1 can also carry a 9 kg warhead, supporting tactical missions across difficult terrain. In addition, Nagastra-3, currently under process, features a range of more than 100 kilometres and is designed for extended missions with enhanced abilities.
3. Rudrastra (VTOL Loitering Munition)
Rudrastra is a hybrid VTOL UAV, designed and developed by Solar Aerospace & Defence Limited, which is capable of precision strikes with an 8 kg payload, over a 170 km range, and with 90-minute endurance. It was successfully tested at Pokhran in June 2025.
2. DRDO TAPAS-BH-201 (Rustom-2)
TAPAS-BH is a MALE UAV that can operate at an altitude of 30000 ft. It can also carry a variety of payloads up to a maximum of 350 kgs. Rustom-2 is a platform designed to perform surveillance, intelligence, and reconnaissance missions for the Indian Armed Forces, which is expected to be inducted by late 2025.
1. HAL CATS Warrior
An Indian unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), HAL CATS Warrior, is being developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as part of the Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) program. A report in Mathrubhumi confirmed that the first test flight of the CATS Warrior is scheduled for 2026. The upcoming 5th-generation drones will team up with Indian Air Force (IAF) fighters such as the Tejas, AMCA, TEDBF, Su-30MKI, and Jaguar to act as their motherships.
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