SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG
Following the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) successful deployment of the Israeli-supplied Harop loitering munition during Operation Sindoor in May 2025, the IAF is intensifying its focus on acquiring additional units of the Adani-manufactured Agnikaa AR, an autonomous anti-radiation weapon system and a licensed variant of the Harop.
The Agnikaa AR, produced by Adani Defence & Aerospace in collaboration with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), proved its mettle by neutralizing a Chinese-supplied air defense system in the recent India-Pakistan conflict, showcasing its precision and effectiveness in Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) missions. According to sources cited by the Indian Defence Research Wing (idrw.org), the IAF is keen to bolster its inventory with more Agnikaa AR systems to counter radar-based air defenses, aligning with India’s push for self-reliance in defense manufacturing.
The Harop’s success extended beyond Pakistan. During the conflict, it reportedly neutralized a Chinese-supplied air defense system, likely an HQ-9 or HQ-16, demonstrating its capability against advanced radar emitters. This achievement validated the Harop’s reputation, earned in earlier conflicts like Azerbaijan’s 2016 and 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh wars, where it destroyed Armenian air defenses, and in Syria, where it took out an SA-22 Greyhound system in 2018. The IAF’s combat use of the Harop, combined with its integration into India’s multi-layered air defense grid, underscored its strategic value in modern warfare.
The Agnikaa AR, showcased as a Harop variant at Aero India 2023, is manufactured by Adani Defence & Aerospace under a strategic partnership with IAI. This collaboration aligns with India’s “Make in India” and “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” initiatives, enabling domestic production of advanced loitering munitions. The Agnikaa AR builds on the Harop’s design, optimized for SEAD/DEAD missions, with enhancements tailored to Indian requirements. Its production in Hyderabad allows scalability, with Adani capable of ramping up output based on IAF orders.
India’s journey with the Harop began in 2009 with a $100 million deal for 10 units, followed by an order for 54 more in 2019, bringing its fleet to over 100 drones, renamed P-4 in IAF service. The Agnikaa AR, with its localized production, reduces dependency on imports while maintaining the Harop’s combat-proven capabilities. Its display at Adani’s Aero India 2023 stand signaled future acquisitions under the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP)-2020’s Strategic Partnership model.
Key Features and Specifications of Agnikaa AR
The Agnikaa AR is designed to autonomously neutralize enemy air defense radars, rendering them ineffective. Its key features, as outlined by idrw.org, include:
- Autonomous Neutralization: Targets and destroys radar systems at long range without exposing operators to frontline risks.
- Wider Band RF: Enhanced radio frequency seeker detects a broad spectrum of radar emissions, improving target acquisition.
- Extended Loitering: Capable of loitering for up to 9 hours, allowing persistent surveillance and time-sensitive strikes.
- Abort Attack Capability: Man-in-the-loop control enables operators to abort strikes, reducing collateral damage and enabling retargeting.
- High Precision: Achieves sub-meter accuracy, ideal for high-value targets like radars and command posts.
- GPS Jamming Immunity: Resilient to satellite navigation jamming, ensuring reliability in contested environments.
Specifications:
- Range: 800+ km, enabling deep-strike missions.
- Seeker: Anti-radiation, with electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) and forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensors for multi-mode targeting.
- Endurance: Up to 9 hours, supporting prolonged operations.
- Speed: Up to 225 knots (417 km/h), balancing speed and loiter time.
- Payload: 23 kg high-explosive warhead, effective against radars, vehicles, and infrastructure.
The IAF’s interest in procuring more Agnikaa AR systems reflects its post-Operation Sindoor focus on enhancing precision strike and SEAD capabilities. Sources told idrw.org that the IAF aims to expand its loitering munition arsenal to counter advanced air defenses, particularly those supplied by China to Pakistan, such as the HQ-9 and HQ-16 systems. The Agnikaa AR’s ability to disable radar systems aligns with India’s multi-layered air defense strategy, which integrated indigenous Akash, Indo-Israeli MR-SAM, and Russian S-400 systems to neutralize over 500 Pakistani drones and missiles during the conflict.
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