'Vajra Shot' - The India-Made Handheld Anti-Drone Gun With Range of 4 Km

A gun to counter drones, with a range of four kilometres, caught Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi's attention, who examined the India-made gun at 'Swavlamban 2024' - Indian Navy's Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) Seminar.

'Vajra Shot' developed by Big Bang Boom Solutions has been deployed in the Army and the Air Force. Representing the company at the exhibition, Ravi Kumar said, "We are into anti-drone solutions and this is 'Vajra Shot'. It is a hand-held anti-drone gun that can detect up to a range of 4 km and can also do jamming. We have deployed it in the Indian Army and Air Force. We have received orders worth around $25 million (Over Rs 200 crore) so far."

Vajra Shot has been designed for portability and ease of use by soldiers. The radars detect drones from up to four kilometres away and disrupt radio communication between the drone and its operator. The lightweight design makes it mobile. It can adapt its output frequency, unlike traditional radio jammers that operate on fixed frequencies.

Admiral Tripathi examined the gun at the exhibition as well. He inaugurated the 'Swavlamban 2024' exhibition at Bharat Mandapam being held at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi on October 28 and 29.

Speaking to ANI, the Navy Chief expressed happiness to witness the innovations from the country's young entrepreneurs. He added that around 115 stalls have been set up by various agencies in the exhibition.

"I have just gone around the exhibition and it has been such a wonderful experience to witness what is on display, what our young entrepreneurs are doing and what is possible in the future. There are almost 115 stalls that have been put up by various agencies, which include, of course, the industry, but also DRDO...We have got participation from Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Coast Guard, BSF," the Navy Chief said.

The Advent Of Drones In Conflict

Former Deputy National Security Advisor of the US, Nadia Schadlow once said, "The space between war and peace is not an empty one - but a landscape churning with political, economic, and security competitions that require constant attention."

The democratization of technology led to the easy acquisition of AI, which can be used to direct targeted attacks. The use of semi-autonomous and autonomous drones, which are powered by AI, in the Russia-Ukraine war and the attacks in the Red Sea have forced states to change their strategy. Drones can carry out missions at low cost and have blunted the asymmetry. The US and UK are arming Ukraine with AI-powered drones to carry out precision strikes. 

At the NDTV Defence Summit held earlier this year, Sameer Joshi a defence expert said, "The use of drones indicates a doctrinal shift and robots are here to play an important role. 10-15% of robots will be there in future forces."

Lt General Sunil Srivastava (retired), Former Director of the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies, suggested some ways to counter such threats. Speaking at the maiden NDTV Defence Summit, General Srivastava said, "Both Russia and Ukraine have built an ecosystem of drones, mass production is taking place. Crowdsourcing and volunteers are coming up and drones are being produced without trial evaluation using various technologies on which their counter-jamming systems are not effective. Therefore the attrition rate is very high but it is letting them stay in the fight."

"Using nets, laser systems like Israel's Iron Beam, and electronic jammers are currently the most effective and cheap ways to counter drones. The Israeli Iron Beam has been effective and I think lasers, and jammers are needed to counter them," he added.