Army puts to test its new ‘Shaurya’ drone squadron for tank units | India News
New Delhi: Taking lessons from Operation Sindur, the Indian Army is equipping its armored regiments with dedicated drone units known as ‘Shaurya Squadron’. These units are being integrated into tank formations to support surveillance, precision strikes, electronic warfare and logistics, adding drone capabilities to direct armored operations.Just a few days ago, the Army tested a Shaurya squadron in a realistic combat environment at the Babina Field firing range near Jhansi, where Southern Army Commander Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth witnessed a drone squadron in action. Led by the White Tiger Division under Sudarshan Chakra Corps, the 13-day drill showed how drone support adds an extra punch to the armored regiment’s firepower.At X, Southern Command said, “In the field in a realistic combat environment, the Saurya squadron demonstrated seamless integration of real-time surveillance assets with mechanized forces, attack helicopters, swarm strikes and coordinated firepower, enhanced battlefield awareness, sensor-compromised and cycle-compressed battlefield response.”An army source said this information TOI that “5-6 Shaurya squadrons have been activated so far”. “However, the concept of drone unit integration is still at an early stage and requires more trials for perfection. The official launch of such units will happen after receiving formal approval,” the source said.The Army operates the world’s largest main battle tank fleet with 63 armored regiments. Each regiment is normally equipped with around 45 tanks, including T-90S Bhishma, upgraded T-72 M1 ‘Ajeya’ and Arjun MK1/MK1A variants for a total fleet of around 4,500 tanks.Learning from global conflicts, including the drone-centric Russia-Ukraine war, the Indian military is gradually pushing to institutionalize UAV or drone capabilities across its arsenal.In the infantry, the Army last year raised Ashni platoons equipped with surveillance UAVs and loitering munitions for tactical ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) and strike roles. In artillery, artillery batteries have been raised to integrate UAV-based targeting with conventional guns for faster and more autonomous engagement cycles.
