Solar Defence and Aerospace Ltd. (SDAL), headquartered in Nagpur, has commenced deliveries of its indigenous Nagastra-2 anti-tank loitering munition to the Indian Army, strengthening the country’s domestic precision-strike capabilities. The system combines surveillance and attack functions in a single platform and incorporates day-and-night cameras alongside a 4 kg tandem shaped-charge warhead. According to the company, the warhead can penetrate up to 650 mm of Rolled Homogeneous Armour (RHA), allowing the munition to engage heavily protected armored targets. Nagastra-2 offers an operational range of 25 km in recover-and-reuse mode and up to 50 km in fire-and-forget mode. With an endurance of up to 60 minutes, it can remain airborne while searching for targets before executing a precision strike. Its Electronic Counter-Countermeasures (ECCM) capability is intended to improve performance against communication jamming, GPS interference and spoofing attempts. The system completed technical trials at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in August 2026, where Army personnel reportedly witnessed compliance with operational and ECCM requirements. The deliveries follow the Army’s 2025 order for approximately 450 Nagastra-1R loitering munitions. The earlier system features a reusable launcher, a 360-degree gimbal camera, an optional thermal imaging payload and encrypted video and telemetry links. It reportedly achieves a circular error probable of around two metres, with more than 80% indigenous content. The Nagastra family has been tested in locations including Ladakh and Babina near Jhansi, demonstrating operation across varied terrain and climatic conditions. Nagastra-2’s induction supports India’s wider self-reliance initiative and provides the Army with an additional indigenous capability for surveillance, anti-armour missions and precision engagement in electronically contested environments.
