For much of the past decade, India’s drone industry grew by assembling imported components into aircraft tailored for local requirements. Motors, batteries, sensors, cameras and processors came from global suppliers, while domestic drone makers focused on designing and integrating platforms for applications ranging from agriculture and mining to infrastructure inspection, surveying, logistics and defence.
That model is beginning to change. Instead of relying largely on imported technology, companies are increasingly building the systems that determine how a drone flies, navigates and performs. Flight controllers, autopilots, autonomous navigation, mission software, secure communication systems, electronic warfare technologies, specialised payloads and cloud-based fleet management platforms are now being developed locally.
The shift reflects a broader change in where value is being created. The focus is no longer just on building drones but on owning the software and intellectual property that determine how they perform. That transition is being driven by a combination of market demand, national security considerations and government policy.
Enterprise customers want drones that can inspect assets autonomously, analyse data in real time and operate with minimal human intervention, while defence users are demanding capabilities such as GPS-denied navigation, anti-jamming resilience and autonomous swarming.
Geopolitical tensions have exposed the risks of relying on overseas suppliers for critical technologies, while policy measures – including the ban on imported fully built drones, production-linked incentives and defence procurement reforms – have accelerated domestic innovation.
“Customers today expect capabilities that go well beyond an airworthy platform,” says Sandip Bapat, senior director – R&D Software at ideaForge Technology. “The industry is steadily moving towards companies that own their intellectual property.”
The biggest changes are happening inside the drone itself. A modern drone is essentially a flying computer. Beneath the airframe sits a technology stack comprising flight controllers, autopilots, navigation systems, communication links, onboard computing, payloads and software that plans missions, manages fleets and analyses data. These are increasingly the technologies that determine performance and distinguish one product from another.
They also create more value. Unlike hardware, software can be upgraded continuously, adapted for different applications and licensed across platforms. Companies that own these technologies can improve products faster, build recurring revenue streams and create intellectual property that is difficult for competitors to replicate.
IdeaForge, for instance, has spent years developing its proprietary autopilot while expanding into GNSS-denied navigation, anti-jamming technologies, electronic warfare resilience and cloud-based drone management software. The company says around 60% of its hardware is now sourced domestically, with localisation continuing to improve.
Autonomy is emerging as the next battleground. Instead of drones that simply respond to remote commands, companies are building systems capable of planning missions, coordinating with other drones, avoiding obstacles and completing complex tasks with minimal operator intervention.
The same technologies are finding applications across agriculture, mining, utilities, disaster response and defence. “The future is less about manufacturing airframes and more about owning the technologies that power them,” says Bodhisattwa Sanghapriya, founder and CEO of IG Defence.
The technology push is not limited to drones. As unmanned aircraft become more common, demand is growing for counter-drone systems capable of detecting, tracking and neutralising hostile drones. Companies such as Armory are developing AI-based threat detection, radio-frequency engineering, digital signal processing and smart jamming systems.
According to Amardeep Singh, CEO of Armory, owning the technology stack enables companies to upgrade capabilities more quickly as threats evolve instead of depending on overseas vendors.
Industry executives say India is still some distance away from building every component locally. High-performance semiconductors, specialised processors, thermal imaging sensors, advanced camera modules, batteries and motors continue to come largely from global supply chains. Building those industries will require years of investment, manufacturing expertise and scale.
Instead, companies are concentrating on areas where they can create the greatest value. Commodity hardware can be sourced globally, but flight control software, navigation, communications, autonomy, mission planning and electronic warfare capabilities are being developed in-house. Put simply, the industry is trying to own the brains of the drone before it owns every part inside it.
That approach is also changing how domestic companies compete overseas. Rather than positioning themselves simply as manufacturers, they are beginning to sell proprietary platforms, sovereign technologies and software developed for demanding operating environments.
The opportunity is substantial. The global drone market is projected to reach around $90 billion by 2030, driven by demand across defence, agriculture, infrastructure, logistics and public safety. India, meanwhile, aims to become a global drone hub by the end of the decade, with industry estimates valuing the domestic drone economy at around ₹50,000 crore.
For Indian companies, the next phase of growth will depend less on how many drones they assemble and more on how much technology they own. Manufacturing will remain important, but the bigger opportunity lies in controlling the software, autonomy and intellectual property that increasingly define a drone’s capabilities. In the years ahead, patents may prove more valuable than production lines.