India tests its own stealth combat drone in an effort to boost its defense industry

India wants to enter the world’s stealth arena. The country’s military research agency has successfully tested a bat-shaped flying wing aircraft intended to be a prototype for an Indian stealth combat drone.

India acquiring stealth aircraft capabilities will be bad news for China, one of its regional rivals, and thus good news for China’s arch-rival, the United States, which is forging closer security links with New Delhi.

The Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator or Stealth Wing Flying Testbed (SWiFT), as the project is known, made its maiden flight on July 1st, according to an Indian Ministry of Defense announcement. The drone, designed by India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is a testbed for future drone technologies. Some observers noted that it resembles a U.S. B-2 stealth bomber.

“Operating in a fully autonomous mode, the aircraft exhibited a perfect flight, including take-off, way point navigation and a smooth touchdown,” the Indian Ministry of Defense said. “This flight marks a major milestone in terms of proving critical technologies towards the development of future unmanned aircraft and is [sic] significant step towards self-reliance in such strategic defense technologies.”

An Indian defense researcher also told U.S. magazine Defense News that the flight showed the UAV’s capability to “take off, climb in altitude, cruise midair, navigate to waypoints, descend and land autonomously.”

The bat-winged drone project could be the precursor to significant developments. In its October 2020 issue, DRDO’s in-house magazine referred to SWiFT as a “scaled-down version” of the Ghatak unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) under development. “The main intent of the SWiFT UAV is to demonstrate and prove the stealth technology and high-speed landing technology in autonomous mode,” DRDO said.

Indian drone Ghatak — India’s Ghatak stealthy drone is currently under development by DRDO. The SWiFT will be a scaled-down version of Ghatak, according to DRDO. (Government of India)

SWiFT is powered by a Russian NPO Saturn 36MT turbofan engine. India is also working on an indigenous engine for the craft, according to The Hindu newspaper.

Combat drones are just one part of the Indian government’s plan to boost the country’s defense industry. India is the world’s biggest importer of arms. Since the 1960s, most of the country’s weapon imports come from Russia; joint Russo-Indian projects, such as the Brahmos anti-ship missile, have also existed. But in recent years, New Delhi has turned to the U.S. and Europe for military equipment. It has also been a member of the Quad, an informal security partnership between India, the U.S., Australia, and Japan aimed at countering an increasingly powerful and assertive China.

Indian combat drones could also be a problem for the U.S. and Russia, which are developing their own stealthy combat drones, including the American XQ-58 and Russian S-70B.

An American XQ-58 drone during a demonstration flight in 2019. (Photo by Holly Jordan/Air Force Research Laboratory)

Further, given how regional powers, notably Israel and Turkey, have found a lucrative niche in exporting military drones, India could potentially become a rival exporter of them. And in the future, other countries could also end up against Indian drones, just as Russian tanks were battered by Turkish TB2 Bayraktar missile-armed UAVs.

However, given the notorious problems and delays that have afflicted Indian defense projects – such as the Arjun tank, and the Tejas fighter, which took almost 40 years to take flight – Indian combat drones may take a while to arrive. But they seem to be on their way.

Michael Peck is a contributing writer for Sandboxx and Forbes. He can be found on Twitter and LinkedIn.