Army gets demo of indigenous counter-drone system 'Bhargavastra'

A new counter-swarm drone system called 'Bhargavastra' has been showcased to the army, marking a significant step in India’s efforts to build layered defences against the growing threat of weaponised drones and loitering munitions. The demonstration, held in Nagpur on July 24, was conducted under the Make-II programme as part of a status review.The Bhargavastra system is mounted on a vehicle and integrates a Command and Control Vehicle equipped with radar, Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) sensors and passive radio-frequency detectors, linked through a network. Alongside, a launcher vehicle carries multiple launch tubes. During the trial, a swarm of drones was detected and tracked by the system’s sensors. The C4I suite generated a real-time air picture, issued alerts and assigned targets to the launcher, following which the firing sequence was demonstrated.What sets Bhargavastra apart is its dual-layered kill mechanism.