Why Indian Army has cancelled ₹230 crore drone contracts
What's the story
The Indian Army has canceled ₹230 crore worth contracts for the procurement of 400 drones over alleged use of Chinese components.
The order comprised 200 medium-altitude drones, 100 heavyweight drones, and 100 lightweight logistics drones for deployment along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, TOI reported.
Among the impacted companies is Chennai-based Dhaksha, which had bagged an order for logistics drones.
Security risks
Concerns over Chinese components in drones
The contracts had been suspended since August 2024 amid concerns over the use of Chinese manufacturing components.
Investigations found that the drones had Chinese-origin electronic components, which could pose a risk to national security.
The Directorate General of Military Intelligence (DGMI) had warned against the use of Chinese hardware and software in sensitive defense systems in 2010 and 2015.
Security breach
Incident prompts reinforcement of ban on Chinese components
In August 2024, an Army infantry unit lost control of a fixed-wing Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) drone along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir's Rajouri sector.
The drone crossed into Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).
The incident prompted a reinforcement of the ban on Chinese-origin components in military-grade drones.
Quality control
Defense establishment implements stringent mechanism
In light of these incidents, the defense establishment is putting in place a "stringent mechanism" to ensure military drones don't have a Chinese part or electronics.
The move also seeks to prevent malicious codes from being embedded in drone systems.
A TOI source flagged cybersecurity threats from using Chinese components, noting an adversary could take control of a drone or "soft kill" it via jamming with possible backdoors in the electronics.
Industry warning
Defense ministry urges caution against procuring Chinese components
The defense ministry's department of defense production has also asked industry bodies FICCI, CII, and Assocham to warn member companies against sourcing Chinese components for drones and related equipment.
This comes as the armed forces are sourcing various types of drones—nano, mini, micro, kamikaze, logistics, armed swarms and fighter-size MALE (medium-altitude, long-endurance) and HALE (high-altitude, long-endurance) UAVs—amid military standoffs with China.