Kharga Kamikaze drone: Know all about Indian Army's high-speed drone

‘Kharga’ has a range of about one and a half kilometres and can carry up to 700 grams of explosives

The Indian Army has developed the “Kharga” Kamikaze drone to strengthen intelligence and surveillance operations, according to a report by NDTV.

All about “Kharga”

According to the report, “Kharga” has a range of about one and a half kilometres and can carry up to 700 grams of explosives. It is also reportedly equipped with GPS, a navigation system, and a high-definition camera. “Kharga” reportedly has countermeasures against enemy electromagnetic spectrum jamming. This enhances its operational effectiveness during missions.

Defence ministry insiders told NDTV that “Kharga” as a “suicide” drone, can easily destroy enemy targets and has been built at a cost of Rs 30,000. According to reports, the concept of Kamikaze drones is not new. They can be traced back to World War II, where Japanese pilots conducted suicide missions by crashing their aircraft into targets. “Such drones were used in the Russia-Ukraine war,” officials told NDTV.

In August, the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) unveiled its own indigenous Kamikaze drones, capable of covering distances up to 1,000 kilometers. These aerial vehicles have been reportedly used extensively by Ukraine to target the Russian army.

Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday said India will soon create a comprehensive anti-drone unit to secure its borders as the "menace" of unmanned aerial vehicles is going to get serious in the coming days.

Addressing BSF troops at the 60th Raising Day event of the force here at its training camp, about 300 km from the India-Pakistan border, Shah said the initial results of a "laser equipped anti-drone gun-mounted" mechanism have been encouraging.

This has led to an increase in drone neutralisation and detection cases, up from 3 per cent to 55 per cent, along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab, he said.

"The drone menace is going to get more serious in the coming days... We are tackling this issue in a 'whole of government' approach with the border guarding forces, defence and research organisations and the DRDO joining hands. "We are going to create a comprehensive anti-drone unit for the country in the coming time," Shah said.

According to official data, more than 260 drones have been downed or recovered from India's border with Pakistan this year as compared to about 110 in 2023. The maximum number of such interdictions of drones carrying arms and drugs have taken place in Punjab and very few in Rajasthan and Jammu.

The Border Security Force (BSF), which has a strength of about 2.65 lakh personnel, was raised on December 1, 1965. It is primarily tasked with guarding more than 6,300 kms of Indian fronts with Pakistan and Bangladesh apart from rendering a variety of duties in the internal security domain of the country.