As drones take centre stage in combat, DRDO seeks new jet engines for upcoming programs.

As modern warfare rapidly shifts towards drones, loitering munitions and autonomous strike systems, the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Research Centre Imarat (RCI) has issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) seeking compact, combat-proven turbojet engines for aerospace applications a move that strongly signals India may be accelerating its jet-powered drone and cruise missile programmes amid growing concerns over gaps in indigenous unmanned warfare capabilities.


As drones increasingly dominate modern warfare, India appears to be speeding up efforts to strengthen its indigenous unmanned combat capabilities. The Engine specifications indicate for a highly survivable, all-weather unmanned combat platform capable of operating across India’s diverse and extreme battle environments.

• The requirement for operations at altitudes above 9.5 km (30,000 feet) suggests the platform is expected to function in high-altitude conditions near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, where thin air severely affects engine performance.
• At the same time, the ability to function in temperatures ranging from below -30°C to above 40°C points toward deployment flexibility across terrains such as Ladakh, Siachen and the Thar desert.
• The operational speed of up to Mach 0.9 (1,100 Km/h) places the system in the category of high-subsonic strike platforms fast enough to reduce enemy reaction time while remaining significantly cheaper than supersonic cruise missiles.
• The compact size and sub-25 kg weight requirement indicate DRDO is prioritising smaller, harder-to-detect systems that can be mass-produced.

DRDO has also asked vendors to provide all the necessary accessories and support systems required for ground testing and integration of the engine.


The urgency:


By specifically asking for readily available and flight-tested engines DRDO appears to be attempting to short the development timelines. This reflects the growing urgency within Indian defence establishment to rapidly build indigenous drone systems.


While the countries like United States, China, Turkey and Iran have developed dedicated ecosystems for combat, loitering munitions and Jet-powered strike systems, India still remains dependent on certain foreign technologies in several critical areas


India has made progress through programs such as Tapas, Archer and multiple swarm drone projects. But several systems are still under development, turbojet engine technology remains limited. Jet engines remain one of the toughest technologies to masters.

The specifications mentioned strongly indicate that India is long to use it in long range kamikaze drones or loitering munitions or in subsonic cruise missiles.


As modern conflicts increasingly highlight the battlefield dominance of drones and loitering munitions. DRDO’s decision to seek ready-made, flight proven turbojet engines points to the growing urgency. The move reflects the shift towards faster capability induction to match the pace of rapidly evolving global military landscape.