Indian Navy moves to acquire ship-launched ‘kamikaze’ drones

The Ministry of Defence has formally opened the search for a new class of ship-launched ‘kamikaze’ drones, and has issued a Request for Information (RFI) – the first stage of the tendering process.

Called the medium range loitering munition, however, in military terminology these are referred to ‘kamikaze’ drones – derived from the Japanese World War II analogy for ‘suicide  attackers’, pilots who would deliberately crash aircraft laden with explosives into warships.

The RFI signalling an intent to add a sea-based loitering ammunition capability to the Indian Naval warships. The drone can be launched from ships, fly to a target area, circle overhead while searching for targets, and then dive into the target in a terminal attack, blurring the line between a reconnaissance drone and a precision-guided missile.

Among the broad performance benchmarks listed in the RFI's technical appendix, the Navy is seeking systems capable of ranges of at least 1,000 km, loitering endurance of nine hours or more, and cruising speeds above 75 knots. The terminal attack dive speed is specified at more than 200 knots. The specification also calls for an operating ceiling of 15,000 feet and a low radar cross-section design.

The RFI document further specifies that each ammunition would carry an electro-optical and infrared seeker— combining forward-looking infrared system imaging with a day camera — for navigation, surveillance and target identification in both day and night conditions. It would carry a forward-mounted warhead for the terminal strike.

To guard against jamming or signal loss, the Navy wants a drone which can navigate autonomously between pre-set coordinates, automatically return toward the last known position of their control terminal if the data link drops, and divert to a pre-designated safe termination point if contact cannot be restored — a standard safety feature meant to prevent an uncontrolled weapon from continuing toward a populated or unintended area.

The Navy wants the ability of the drone to strike both maritime and land targets. The requirements describe a package built around several components

The requirement from the Navy also calls for the ability to hand off control of a munition already in flight between different ships and stations, meaning one vessel could launch a weapon that is then guided to its target by the sensors and operators aboard another ship — or a shore-based unit.

India’s move follows a broader pattern among navies worldwide toward integrating loitering munitions — sometimes called ‘suicide drones’ — into surface fleets, a shift accelerated by their prominent use in recent conflicts including the war in Ukraine. Ship-mounted variants offer navies a lower-cost, longer- strike option that can be launched and redirected against opportunistic targets without committing a manned aircraft or a more expensive cruise missile.

The acquisition would proceed under India's Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP), with preference categories — Buy (Indian-IDDM), Buy (Indian), and Buy & Make (Indian) — reserved for domestic industry participation, reflecting a continued push to localize defence production under its "Atmanirbhar Bharat", or self-reliant India, initiative.