The Indian Army has developed ‘Kharga’ Kamikaze drone, an aero system capable of being deployed in intelligence and surveillance roles. The drone is a high-speed and low-weight aerial vehicle with a speed of 40 meters per second, officials said.
‘Kharga’ can carry up to 700 grams of explosives and is equipped with GPS, a navigation system, and a high-definition camera. It also reportedly has countermeasures for enemy electromagnetic spectrum jamming.
The drone has a range of about one and a half kilometres.
Known as a kind of ‘suicide’ drone, it can easily destroy enemy targets. According to officials, ‘Kharga’ does not come under the radar range.
The drone has been built at a cost of Rs 30,000.
Such drones were used in the Russia-Ukraine war, officials said.
In August, the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) launched potent ‘Swadeshi’ (indigenous) Kamikaze drones – do-and-die unmanned aerial vehicles with home-built engines that can power them to fly up to 1,000 kilometres. The aerial vehicles have been used extensively by the Ukrainians to target Russian infantry and armoured vehicles.
The Kamikaze suicide missions were first seen towards the end of World War II when the pilots of a depleted Japanese air force would ram their fighter planes on Allied aircraft and ships.
