Indrajaal Ranger to detect, track and counter rogue drones on the move for border, VVIP and urban security.
India is expanding its counter-drone capabilities beyond fixed security installations, with government agencies placing orders worth approximately ₹155 crore for the Indrajaal Ranger, a mobile anti-drone patrol vehicle developed by Hyderabad-based Indrajaal Autonomous Defense Systems in partnership with Sigma Advanced Systems.
The orders include a ₹145 crore contract for border-security deployment awarded to the Indrajaal-Sigma consortium and a separate order of around ₹10 crore from an urban police force for VVIP protection and urban security, according to the companies and multiple reports.
The development expands India’s counter-drone capabilities to mobile operations. Instead of relying only on systems protecting fixed locations, the Ranger is designed to provide counter-drone protection while moving through border areas, VVIP routes, public events, urban zones and other sensitive locations.
How the Indrajaal Ranger works
The Ranger is built on the Toyota Hilux 4×4 platform and is designed to detect, track, identify and counter unauthorised drones while the vehicle is on the move. The vehicles are expected to be manufactured at Indrajaal’s facilities in Hyderabad.
At the centre of the system is SkyOS, Indrajaal’s proprietary AI-powered software platform. The company says SkyOS integrates sensor inputs, AI, sensor fusion and command-and-control functions to identify and prioritise aerial threats and coordinate the appropriate response.
The company says the Ranger uses several layers of counter-drone technology, including cyber takeover, GNSS spoofing and radio-frequency jamming. Indrajaal also lists a 4-km combat envelope for the platform.
The platform includes systems developed for different stages of drone interception. Retractor is designed to take control of certain rogue drones so they can be brought down and recovered for forensic analysis. Lakshman Rekha creates a virtual protective boundary around a secured area, while the Net Interceptor is intended to physically capture drones when electronic countermeasures are not enough.
Why the mobile capability matters
The main advantage of the Ranger is mobility.
A fixed counter-drone system can protect a particular installation, but a mobile platform can move with a convoy, patrol a vulnerable border stretch or provide temporary protection during a major event or VVIP movement.
This is increasingly important as drones are being used for surveillance, reconnaissance and cross-border smuggling of weapons and narcotics. The new deployment therefore expands counter-drone protection to locations where permanent systems may not be practical.
The Ranger has been evaluated by the government and selected for deployment by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Indrajaal says the platform has also been approved by the Anti-Rogue Drone Technology Committee (ARDTC), the technical evaluation body associated with the Home Ministry.
A broader role for counter-drone technology
The ₹155 crore orders are significant because they expand India’s counter-drone requirements beyond traditional military applications.
The companies say the mobile system can extend counter-drone protection to border areas, VVIP routes, public events, urban areas and critical infrastructure.
Indrajaal founder and CEO Kiran Raju Penumacha has said that the drone threat is no longer limited to battlefields and now extends to borders, airports, cities and public events. The company sees mobile low-altitude airspace protection as a response to that changing threat environment.
The programme also highlights the growing role of Indian defence technology companies in developing specialised counter-drone systems for domestic security requirements. The use of an Indian-developed AI and command-and-control layer on a mobile 4×4 platform allows security agencies to combine mobility, detection and multiple methods of drone neutralisation in a single vehicle.
The latest orders therefore represent more than the procurement of anti-drone vehicles. They point to a broader move towards mobile, AI-enabled and layered counter-drone protection that can be deployed wherever the security threat moves.
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