With drone threat, air defence guns back in fashion; fragmentation ammunition key

The QRSAM being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has a range of 30 km and has been a priority requirement for the Army

In the backdrop of the huge threat from disruptive technologies such as drones, loiter munitions and counter-drone systems, the Army’s Air Defence is gearing up to induct new fragmentation ammunition for existing air defence guns, around 1,300 in service, while pushing proposals for new systems to counter the growing threat. The Army is also set to conclude contract for the indigenously developed Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) system within 4-5 months.

The QRSAM being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has a range of 30 km and has been a priority requirement for the Army. “We are hoping to get the contract in place in 4-5 months. DRDO said that once the contract is done, First of Prototype Model (FoPM) will be there in 12 months because we already trial-evaluated the equipment. So, in 18 months they would be able to produce... and eventually have in both wheeled and tracked configurations subsequently,” Director General of Army Air Defence (AAD) Lt. Gen. Sumer Ivan D’Cunha said in an interaction on Friday (February 21, 2025).

In addition, the Akash, three regiments of which are in service with the Army, the FoPM with enhanced capability was expected for trials in high altitude in the next 45 days.

Referring to the recent explosive growth in use of various kinds of drones, especially the war in Ukraine, Lt. Gen. D’Cunha said they did not know the quantity and quality they were going to face. “We grew up in an environment where you could quantify air threat in terms of aircraft. Today the quantification is becoming a challenge. And the quality of what this is going to carry is a bigger challenge,” he said.

“We have a huge revolution in military affairs in warfare and disruptive technologies by drones, single drones, loiter munitions, smart drones. We have the whole capability manifesting; we really got a disruptive warfare air defence challenge,” the top officer of the AAD said. “How are we in the Army going to control the tactical battle area to ensure we have freedom of action in the air and freedom of manoeuvre on the ground for our troops is where the challenge lies as the Air Defence arm,” he said.

Lt. Gen. D’Cunha said air burst ammunition, laser and microwave weapons and smart ammunition were in various stages of procurement. While upgradation of high-end air defence systems was going on, equipping existing L-70 and Zu-23 air defence guns with air burst ammunition was a priority. A tender had already been floated for 30mm fragmentation ammunition for the existing vintage guns. Air defence guns were back in fashion, he observed, in the backdrop of the drone threat and the Army had sustained them over the years and the guns could be effectively used with fragmentation ammunition.

A Request For Proposal for a successor gun to replace the L70 and Zu-23 was already out for 220 guns along with smart ammunition. Trials were expected to commence this July and contract likely by May-June 2026, Lt. Gen. D’Cunha said, adding that they were not looking to import any guns. “Smart ammunition is the next level. Every round can be programmed, and 17 rounds of high explosive rounds can be roughly equated to one round of smart ammunition. It increases kill probability and reduces logistics,” he stated.