Solar Industries' Bhargavastra: A Revolutionary Defence Technology to Combat UAVs and Drone Swarms

Solar Industries India Limited (SOLARINDS) has made a significant stride in India's defence technology with the unveiling of the Bhargavastra Weapons System.

This revolutionary technology is specifically designed to combat the growing threat of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and drone swarms. Its potential to neutralize these threats and safeguard Indian airspace was prominently displayed in a video showcase on the Bharat-Shakti defence portal.

Understanding the Bhargavastra System​

Bhargavastra is best understood as a multifaceted system that integrates various critical components to achieve its objective of defending against drone attacks. These components can be broadly categorized as follows:

• Detection and Tracking:
  • RADAR: A primary tool for long-range detection of aerial targets.
  • Electro-Optical Tracking System (EOTS): Uses visual tracking for target acquisition.
  • Electro-Optical IR (EO/IR): Combines visual and infrared capabilities for target identification under different lighting conditions.
• Command and Coordination:
  • Command & Control Center: The operational brain of the system.
  • C4I (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence): The integrated network for managing Bhargavastra's operations.
  • AI Layer: Artificial intelligence likely used to enhance situational awareness and decision-making.
• Engagement:
  • Launcher with Missiles: The platform for launching micro-missiles.
  • Data Links: Communication channels to guide missiles.
  • Counter Measures: Potential electronic or physical disruption techniques.

A Force to be Reckoned With​

The Bhargavastra system boasts impressive technical specifications that solidify its defensive prowess:

• Detection Range: Exceeds 5 kilometers with the ability to detect targets with small Radar Cross Sections (RCS).
• Reaction Speed: Less than 16 seconds elapse between detection and interception – crucial for countering fast-moving drones.
• Multi-Target Capability: Can simultaneously track and engage up to 64 targets, effectively neutralizing swarm attacks.
• Micro-Missile System: Deploys lock-on-after-launch missiles with homing capabilities, and a rapid-fire capability increases its effectiveness.

The Significance of Bhargavastra​

The development of Bhargavastra underscores India's commitment to strengthening its air defence in an era where the proliferation of drones poses a complex security challenge. As a domestically produced system, it reduces reliance on foreign imports and fosters self-sufficiency in defence technology.

The Bhargavastra Weapons System stands as a testament to India's technological prowess, offering a robust and adaptable solution to counter potential drone-based threats. Its integration into India's defence infrastructure will significantly enhance its capability to protect its airspace.

 

[Pink Panther]

Hope all these anti drone systems work effectively in testing and are inducted soon as future wars are going to be based on FPV drones, long gone are the old school war.

 

[Apocalypse gupta]

Hope all these anti drone systems work effectively in testing and are inducted soon as future wars are going to be based on FPV drones, long gone are the old school war.

I will make a caveat that future long duration attritional wars will be fought using FPV drones, until EW systems get better.

First few weeks and months of a full scale war will still be fought using aircraft, tanks, mechanised infantry, tanks, artillery and trucks

 

[Apocalypse gupta]

This micro missile system seems very amazing. I remember watching Iron man employing micro missiles to take down chitauri coming down from the worm hole in avengers.

Indian private sector really is very talented.

 

[Superpower Bharat]

This company is really doing great comparing to other copy cat idiots..

 

[Ramsses CDXX]

Micro gas turbine, micro drone killer,..... micro is in fashion 🐣🔬👒

Solar chala Leonardo DRS & Raytheon banne aur banane❗

😁🤦🏻‍♀️

 

[Radha Ramanan]

its clearly an israeli system.. the radar configuration is the same . All for good. its a complex system that needs expertise in aesa radar. EO.. C3..data link ...interceptor etc.....The other crucial part is the interceptor itself that has homing capabilities. Each is cutting edge tech and still no company has made a system equal to this. Its definitely expensive

 

[abhinav srivastava]

Thas a welcome development. Hope its next versions will increase its range to 20 KM.

 

[Tabaahi]

It is a good system but it is going to be costly against fvp swarms or army of drones we are going to facing is higher Himalayas as Chinese will be using lots of cheap drones as they have great industries to back the production. We can imagine the no.s used by them just by looking at russo-ukraine war. Ukraine is almost producing more than a million of drones of all size and Russia is producing somewhere around 2-3 lakhs now just imagine what chinese can do with their industria might and no matter how good these missile system are heck let's for the sake of argument assume they have a single shot kill capability with 100% target acquisition still the cost of such defence would be catastrophic and impossible to bear for us in long drawn war even if it is for few months and using this system even when it is low cost compared to other SAMs will be costly and still majority of small sized drones will bypass it. It would be much better if develop something on the line of AHEAD by Rheinmetall and a moving platform probably based on platform of fcrv/ficv to launch these AHEAD munitions. As it would reduce threat to our armoured platform from small and cheap drones.

 

[Sandeep]

It is a good system but it is going to be costly against fvp swarms or army of drones we are going to facing is higher Himalayas as Chinese will be using lots of cheap drones as they have great industries to back the production. We can imagine the no.s used by them just by looking at russo-ukraine war. Ukraine is almost producing more than a million of drones of all size and Russia is producing somewhere around 2-3 lakhs now just imagine what chinese can do with their industria might and no matter how good these missile system are heck let's for the sake of argument assume they have a single shot kill capability with 100% target acquisition still the cost of such defence would be catastrophic and impossible to bear for us in long drawn war even if it is for few months and using this system even when it is low cost compared to other SAMs will be costly and still majority of small sized drones will bypass it. It would be much better if develop something on the line of AHEAD by Rheinmetall and a moving platform probably based on platform of fcrv/ficv to launch these AHEAD munitions. As it would reduce threat to our armoured platform from small and cheap drones.

The AHEAD is mainly a air burst round which explodes shrapnel in the air near the drone so it can destroy it and surrounding drones near it like Swarm drones. But their bullet is only good for a small threat and it's not as accurate. With this mini missile it can destroy a lot more swarm drones because it will be more powerful and accurate then bullets alone.

India is already developing a 30mm air burst rounds as well which will be ideal to use against a smaller number of drones or swarm drones.

 

[ABHIJIT APSINGIKAR]

I believe there is one US company Anduril Industries, that also has this chaser/hunter drones, that can chase and hunt down adversary drones. This concept seems to be quite similar in operational envelop.

 

[Sandeep]

This is a very important and crucial capability we need to install as quickly as possible. This mini missile is crucial to defeat swarm drones which are very difficult to destroy all of them because they can use hundreds or thousands of those drones to attack us.

This counter drone system is ideal because it uses EW, ESM to jam frequency communications and this mini missile holds a powerful explosion which includes shrapnel which can destroy more surrounding drones that were outside the blast range. If we use a combination of jammers and we are capable of tracking and launching many missiles at the same time over a range then we can destroy any large drone attack over many KM.

We should also install this type of system to protect our tanks, IFV, APC or other armoured vehicles against normal drones, swarm drones, loiter munitions, kamikaze drones but also protect them against ATGM which mostly attack on the top to kill that vehicle. We need to install this type of active protection suite on top which can improve the vehicles survival rate because modern ATGM or other missiles are much more better, lethal, have a higher penetration rate, easy to use, easy to produce and cheaper.

Another area where we can use this system is to defend critical bases, infrastructure, command and communications centres, ammunition storage but also key weapons or systems like our SAM like S400, MR-SAM, Akash, ballistic missile defence shield, key radar systems or other areas. This system can also defend against saturation attacks against MBRL rockets or air launched missiles and bombs to keep our critical weapon or systems to stay functional.

This system can be used to defend us against many types of threats and we can modify, change, upgrade or improve the technology for our defence which is why we need to invest more money on this similar type of system to bring down production costs which the private sector can do very well.

 

[beencensured]

This micro missile system seems very amazing. I remember watching Iron man employing micro missiles to take down chitauri coming down from the worm hole in avengers.

Indian private sector really is very talented.

One is fiction the other may be possibility. Hopefully it has good quality control. But how it is superior to CIWS?

 

[beencensured]

Hope all these anti drone systems work effectively in testing and are inducted soon as future wars are going to be based on FPV drones, long gone are the old school war.

A CIWS could easily be more cost effective though this may find some better use but it is limited to 64 missile. I wonder is it can protect against shelling, rockets, and other types of attacks besides drones.

 

[amerjit johal]

Hope all these anti drone systems work effectively in testing and are inducted soon as future wars are going to be based on FPV drones, long gone are the old school war.

We have been developing an anti drone on a weekly basis since early 2020.
I am sure one will work - eventually.

 

[Fly]

Thas a welcome development. Hope its next versions will increase its range to 20 KM.

Then it won't be a micro system

 

[Pink Panther]

We have been developing an anti drone on a weekly basis since early 2020.
I am sure one will work - eventually.

Yes we hear about a new company that makes anti drone systems every week, but no news whether Military inducted these systems or not.

 

[Apocalypse gupta]

One is fiction the other may be possibility. Hopefully it has good quality control. But how it is superior to CIWS?

Ciws has a shorter range, it says here that this system has a range of 5km. And this also has EW capability. Also, this can target multiple threats simultaneously. Lastly, Ciws are generally used as point defence. They are not a battlefield weapon. In battlefield missiles are preferred.

 

[sunilanalysis]

gepards are more than sufficient. not a single geran went past them..