Indian Navy To Acquire New Type Of Loitering Munition With A 1000 Km Range

The Indian Navy has issued a Request for Information (RFI) for a new medium-range loitering munition that can be launched from naval ships or shore-based vehicles.

The weapon is planned as part of a universal strike system and will be used against both sea and land targets.

The Navy wants the munition to have a range of more than 1,000 kilometres and stay in the air for more than nine hours at speeds above 75 knots. It must also be able to fly up to 15,000 feet, or about 4,600 metres.

India already operates a locally made version of the Harop loitering munition, which was originally designed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

However, India does not currently have an operational land- or sea-based loitering munition with a range of 1,000 kilometres.

What the Navy wants?

The munition must not be more than 2.5 metres long and must have a wingspan of up to three metres.

The Navy wants it to have a modular design and a stabilised electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) seeker. This will be used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as target acquisition and final guidance to the target.

The munition will be launched from a canister and must use radio-frequency and satellite datalinks.

The mission control system must be able to handle up to 10 munitions at the same time. Control must also be transferable between ship-based and land-based control stations.

The munition must be able to operate on its own when GNSS signals are unavailable or denied.

The range, endurance and size requirements put the proposed munition in a class similar to the Iranian Shahed-136, which is typically powered by a piston engine.

India wants the system made locally

The RFI allows the Navy to buy the system under either the Buy (Indian-IDDM) or Buy (Indian) categories.

Under Buy (Indian-IDDM), the munition must be designed and manufactured in India. Under Buy (Indian), Indian companies can work with foreign original equipment manufacturers through technology transfer or joint ventures.

The Navy therefore wants the munition to either be designed and made in India or produced by Indian companies working with foreign OEMs.

Several Indian companies are already working on long-range loitering munition systems that could potentially be adapted for naval use.

NewSpace Research & Technologies is developing the Sheshnaag 150, which has already been flight-tested.

CSIR-NAL and Solar Industries are working on another system that uses an indigenous NAL Wankel engine.

India already uses the Harop

The Indian military currently operates a locally manufactured version of the Harop loitering munition, which was originally designed by IAI.

The locally produced version is identified as the Agnikaa, manufactured by Adani Defence. India also used the Harop-derived system during Operation Sindoor in 2025.

The existing system does not give India an operational land- or sea-based loitering munition with a 1,000-kilometre range.

The new Navy requirement is for a longer-range system that can be launched from ships as well as shore-based vehicles and used against both maritime and land targets.

References: bairdmaritime, navalnews