The Indian Army is now equipped with a new weapon in its fight against terrorism: the Hoverbee kamikaze micro-drone.
Indian Army Inducts Tiny Kamikaze Drones
The Indian Army is now equipped with a new weapon in its fight against terrorism: the Hoverbee kamikaze micro-drone. Developed by Bengaluru-based startup Zulu Defence, this 15 cm long, 260-gram drone is designed to enter buildings, search for terrorists, and eliminate them with a 400-gram grenade.
Despite regular drills and training, the Indian Army has suffered significant losses when combating terrorists holed up in urban and rural buildings. The Hoverbee offers a potential solution to this challenge.
“This drone, upon entering a building, searches for its target while avoiding surrounding obstacles,” explained Major Samar Toor (3rd Generation Infantry Veteran), Chief Growth Officer at Zulu Defence. “It is equipped with a 400-gram grenade that can be detonated remotely.”
The Hoverbee’s capabilities extend beyond targeted strikes. It can also explode if it detects movement around it or hits its target. Equipped with sensors, night vision, and the ability to send video streams, the drone is effective in both day and night operations. Furthermore, the Hoverbee can be used for surveillance and send live broadcasts to its base from up to 2 km away. “Terrorists constantly attempt to infiltrate India’s borders through mountains and forests,” said Major Toor. “Hover B can monitor the border even in bad weather or fog and alert its base of any infiltration incidents.”
Kamikaze Drones
Kamikaze are unmanned aircraft that are part of the tranche of weapons that are being sent by the US to Ukraine to assist their fight against Russia. Also called Switchblade drones, these are small unmanned aircraft that are packed with explosives that can be flown directly at a tank or a group of troops that are destroyed when it hits the target and explodes.
They are called Switchblade because their bladelike wings spring out on launch. Although the Kamikaze might be the most advanced form of this genre of drones, Russia, China, Israel, Iran and Turkey all have some version of it. Weighing just five-and-a-half pounds, including its small warhead, the Switchblade can be taken into battle in a backpack and fly up to 7 miles to hit a target.
