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New Delhi: Solar Defence and Aerospace Limited (SDAL), a subsidiary of Solar Industries India, completes delivery of 450 Nagastra-1R loitering munitions to the Indian Army on October 14, strengthening its short-range precision-strike capabilities. The consignment fulfils an order placed under the Army’s emergency procurement process following technical evaluations and live trials.
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The ₹158-crore contract, placed in June 2025, follows trials in March 2025 in which four companies participate. According to SDAL, it is the only company to meet all the required operational parameters. The latest delivery represents the largest single-batch supply of loitering munitions to the Army by a manufacturer, the company says.
The Nagastra-1R is designed for short-range attack missions and can loiter over an area before engaging a designated target. A key feature is its abort-and-recovery capability, which allows the munition to return for recovery if an attack is called off or the target cannot be confirmed. The system also undergoes multiple live trials to assess targeting accuracy
SDAL reports that the system has more than 80% indigenous content. Its features include day-and-night surveillance capability, GPS-guided navigation, precision targeting and reusable launcher systems. These capabilities support the Army’s requirement for portable, locally developed precision-strike systems.
The delivery adds to India’s efforts to expand domestic production of unmanned and precision-strike weapons. Loitering munitions have gained importance in modern warfare by combining surveillance with the ability to strike targets, while indigenous manufacturing can help strengthen supply-chain resilience and reduce dependence on foreign suppliers.
The delivery marks a milestone for SDAL and India’s defence-industrial ecosystem, although the company has not disclosed the deployment schedule for the complete batch.
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