What is Nagastra-3? India’s Emerging Loitering Munition

 

What is Nagastra-3? India’s Emerging Loitering Munition

Nagastra-3 is engineered for extended-range accuracy, prolonged operation, and self-directed assaults, demonstrating India's advancing self-reliance in defense technology.

During a visit to Solar Industries’ plant in Nagpur, Maharashtra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi evaluated important local defense initiatives on Sunday, including an advanced loitering munition system being crafted by Solar Defence and Aerospace Limited, a division of Solar Industries.

Known as Nagastra-3, this weapon is presently in the prototype phase due to a Project Sanction Order (PSO) received from the Ministry of Defence. It is being developed within the Make-I framework of the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020. With a range of up to 100 kilometers and an endurance exceeding five hours, it notably enhances the functionalities of earlier models.

BUT WHAT IS NAGASTRA-3, SPECIFICALLY?

The Nagastra-3 is categorized as a loitering munition — often referred to as a suicide drone or kamikaze drone — which is intended to linger over a specific area for a duration before targeting and annihilating the objective with high precision. These systems are especially effective for striking valuable or moving targets in challenging environments, minimizing the risk to human operators and limiting collateral damage.

What distinguishes loitering munitions is their combined capabilities: they merge the reconnaissance, intelligence, and surveillance features of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with the attack power of guided missiles, allowing for immediate battlefield strategizing.

The first loitering munition systems emerged in the 1980s, utilized in the Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) strategy against permanent Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) sites. Over time, the applications of these systems diversified for short-range (2-15 km), medium-range (15-50 km), and long-range (50-100 km) missions, including anti-personnel, anti-bunker, anti-armour roles, and the elimination of key enemy infrastructure such as airbases and missile facilities.

BUILDING ON A STRONG HISTORY

The Nagastra-3 represents a step forward in India’s developing series of domestic loitering munitions.

The Nagastra-1, which the Indian Army adopted in 2024, marked India’s inaugural domestic loitering munition system featuring over 75 percent local content. It weighed approximately 30 kilograms, making it portable and transportable in two backpacks. It was equipped with a 1 kg high-explosive fragmentation warhead, an endurance of 60 minutes, and an accuracy of 2 meters. The system functioned manually within 15 km, with an extended range of 30 km in autonomous mode. A significant feature was its parachute recovery system, which facilitated safe retrieval if a mission was called off, representing an important cost-saving function.

Nagastra-2 enhanced both lethality and technical complexity. Weighing 20 kilograms, it included a 4 kg warhead capable of targeting tanks or personnel, a portable pneumatic launcher, and dual sensors for all-weather, real-time targeting. Similar to Nagastra-1, it retained the parachute recovery mechanism for potential reuse.