India’s Solar Defence Rudrastra VTOL Drone Passes Army Trials for Reconnaissance and Precision Strike Missions.

On June 12, 2025, Solar Defence and Aerospace Limited’s new-generation Rudrastra hybrid VTOL unmanned aerial vehicle proved its combat readiness during Indian Army evaluations at the Pokhran Field Firing Range, demonstrating that India’s private sector can now supply long-range drones able to watch, decide and strike inside hostile territory. Born of the post-Operation Sindoor drive to harden India’s western frontier, the trial shows New Delhi’s self-reliance push delivering platforms that merge the reach of fixed-wing UAVs with the flexibility of multirotor craft, an achievement reported by Times of India.

Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link

Rudrastra’s flawless Pokhran display proves that a privately engineered, fully indigenous VTOL drone can deliver precision lethality from austere pads (Picture Source: X-User/ANI)

Rudrastra couples six lift rotors with a pusher propeller and high-aspect wings, allowing vertical take-off before transitioning to forward flight for a 170 km mission profile; endurance reached 1 hour 30 minutes while maintaining an encrypted video link beyond a 50 km radius. The 45 kg air vehicle carries an 8 kg precision-guided anti-personnel/light-armour warhead that air-bursts at low altitude, a dual-channel EO/IR gimbal, laser designator and autonomous return-home logic, giving operators the choice of silent ISR loitering or “find-fix-finish” strike from the same platform.

Conceived in Nagpur by Solar Industries’ UAV arm SDAL, Rudrastra emerged victorious from a 40-bidder competition that narrowed to four prototypes for live firing. Earlier company bench tests in Maharashtra preceded engine-integration taxi trials under DRDO’s 180- to 220-hp indigenisation programme, ensuring every flight-critical component, airframe, propulsion, seeker and warhead, meets Atmanirbhar Bharat content rules.

By combining vertical takeoff capability with a cruise speed comparable to small fixed-wing drones, Rudrastra offers a distinct advantage over older Israeli VTOL imports and even India’s own Rustom-I in dispersed, high-altitude environments. Comparable systems from Türkiye, such as the Kargu, or Iran’s Farpad, often trade payload capacity for endurance or rely on external launch mechanisms, whereas Rudrastra delivers a heavier strike load with fully autonomous flight control, positioning it as a standout in its category.

Strategically, the drone offers the Army an organic, platoon-portable means to surveil infiltration routes across the Line of Control, cue long-range guns and suppress forward artillery without risking manned helicopters, capabilities highlighted as critical during 2024’s drone-saturation incidents. Regionally, its success signals to Islamabad and Beijing that India can mass-produce precision VTOL systems, narrowing the gap with Chinese rotary-wing swarms deployed in Tibet and the Karakoram.

Rudrastra’s flawless Pokhran display proves that a privately engineered, fully indigenous VTOL drone can deliver precision lethality from austere pads, underlining India’s shift toward agile, home-grown airpower that watches further, strikes harder and returns to fight another day.