India’s Sheshnaag-150 missile makes headway!
New Delhi: As the world watches Iran's Shahed-136 low-cost suicide drones and America's own Shahed-inspired LUCAS drones exact disproportionate damage on the battlefield for a fraction of the cost of conventional weapons, India's own answer to this class of warfare, the Sheshnaag-150, is quietly but steadily making headway in development testing. The long-range swarming attack drone, built from scratch by Bengaluru-based defence startup Newspace Research Technologies (NRT), first flew a year ago. But in the wake of Operation Sindoor, during which NRT was called upon by the Indian military to deploy some of its other drone capabilities at the warfront, the urgency around a mature, homegrown, long-range swarming strike capability has sharpened dramatically. What was once a promising internal development program is now viewed through a far more operationally urgent lens.
The timing could not be more instructive. The ongoing eruption in the Middle East has offered the world a masterclass in asymmetric drone warfare. The Iranian Shahed-136, from which the Sheshnaag draws some conceptual lineage, has repeatedly punched far above its weight, overwhelming air defences through sheer mass and saturation, striking high-value targets for costs that border on the ludicrous.
The LUCAS, America's own low-cost derivative inspired by the Shahed template, has reinforced the lesson: in modern warfare, cheap, autonomous, and numerous can beat expensive and singular. Even within the Indian military, the case for Sheshnaag-class systems has arguably never been stronger, and this is driving a Sindoor-powered doctrinal shift towards drone warfare.
The Sheshnaag-150 is designed for coordinated swarm attacks, allowing multiple drones to overwhelm enemy defences and execute precision strikes. With an operational range of over 1,000 km and endurance exceeding five hours, it can loiter over target areas, providing real-time surveillance and attack options. It is capable of autonomously identifying, tracking, and engaging enemy targets with minimal or no human intervention, and can carry warheads of 25-40 kg, sufficient to cause serious damage to infrastructure, vehicles, or personnel.
