As India is swiftly advancing in the field of defence technology, it has done a significant achievement by producing its first indigenous kamikaze drone. It is developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) under DRDO. Its characteristics include a cutting edge which is designed to strike high-value enemy targets with stealth and in the process, sacrificing itself. The SWiFT-K is an outstanding achievement marking India’s self-reliance, innovation and rapid prototyping in Defence.
A New Era in India’s Unmanned Warfare: SWiFT-K
India has advanced itself as it has taken a significant step in defence technology by the development of a new kamikaze drone called SWiFT-K, developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) under DRDO in Bengaluru.
Its highly advanced characteristics include sharp cutting edges to counter high-value enemy targets and completely destroying itself in the process.
It is a significant achievement as it is cost-effective and a smart way to tackle high-value targets like advanced air defence systems.
The drone SWiFT-K is a derivative of the SWiFT program, which is part of India’s efforts to develop stealthy unmanned combat air defenses.
The drone carries a warhead for one-way missions and hence signified by the word “K”. It is very fast and very hard to detect as it flies around 0.6 Mach (735 km/h). ADE has already built two prototypes and successfully completed High-Speed Taxi Trials at Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), despite not having official funding or user backing. These tests proved the drone’s ground handling and flight readiness. In order to avoid radar detection and interception, SWiFT-K is purely designed to focus on stealth and speed. It used a Russian Engine currently, but in future India is likely to use its own Small Turbo Fan Engine (STFE). Its flying-wing shape makes it similar to advanced stealth drones. SWiFT-K is a collaboration between DRDO, Indian Industry, and Indian Institute of Science (IISc). The whole design and prototype were developed in just nine months showcasing India’s ability to innovate quickly in defence. Now, SWiFT-K uses conventional take-off and landing but its future versions will use catapult or booster launches. This will help the drone deploy itself from mobile platforms or forward locations without needing a runway.
