Divyastra Mk3
Why in News?
The Divyastra Mk3 is in the news because it successfully completed its maiden flight test, marking India's first-ever fully indigenous, jet-powered loitering munition (kamikaze drone) to take to the skies.
Development & Inception
- Local Innovation: Developed by Kawa UAV Pvt. Ltd. (HoverIt), a defence startup based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
- Rapid Turnaround: The program progressed from a blank-page concept to its first successful flight test in under 8 to 12 months.
- Industrial Corridor: The drone was created under the framework of the UP Defence Industrial Corridor Framework, which provides infrastructure support to local startups.
- Zero Foreign Reliance: The entire system—including the airframe, payload, guidance software, and critical subsystems—was built completely within India without any imports.
Specifications & Capabilities
- Weapon Classification: It operates as a next-generation loitering munition, commonly known as a suicide or kamikaze drone, designed to hunt and crash directly into a target.
- Target Focus: Engineered to neutralize high-value enemy assets, command posts, radars, air-defence systems, and personnel in heavily contested airspaces.
- Estimated Range: Though official numbers remain classified, industry data indicators peg its operational range at approximately 300 to 400 km.
- High Payload Capacity: Capable of carrying an onboard explosive warhead or specialized modular sensors weighing up to 15 to 20 kg.
- Estimated Speed: Cruises at a swift speed of 250 to 300 km/h.
The Jet Propulsion Advantage
- Indigenous Turbojet: Powered by a 40 kgf-class micro-turbojet engine engineered entirely by New Delhi-based DG Propulsion.
- Differentiating Feature: Unlike traditional loitering munitions (such as Iran's Shahed-136) that rely on slower, propeller-driven piston engines or electric motors, the Mk3 acts closer to a miniature jet aircraft.
- Tactical Speed & Surprise: The turbojet power dramatically reduces the time available for enemy air defence systems to detect, track, and engage the incoming weapon.
- High-Altitude Relevance: Jet engines effectively overcome the severe atmospheric density and engine de-rating performance penalties typical of piston systems when operating over high-altitude borders like Eastern Ladakh.
- AI Integration: Equipped with autonomous flight controls and AI-enabled target-engagement architecture.
- Operational Profile: It can autonomously loiter over a designated conflict zone, intelligently hunt for targets, and strike on demand while maintaining high survivability.
