A major new security assessment by the Indian think tank Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS) has sounded a serious warning about the rapidly evolving unmanned aerial threat confronting India’s defence establishment, particularly in the context of a future high-intensity conflict involving both China and Pakistan.
The report argues that New Delhi must urgently prepare for a new era of warfare in which thousands of drones, loitering munitions, and autonomous swarming systems could overwhelm conventional military defences on an unprecedented scale. According to the assessment, India may face coordinated daily drone attacks involving between 1,500 and 2,000 unmanned platforms during a sustained multi-front war scenario.
The study highlights how modern combat is undergoing a structural transformation driven by the widespread availability of inexpensive unmanned technologies. Autonomous systems, First-Person View (FPV) drones, loitering munitions, and AI-enabled swarms are increasingly replacing expensive conventional platforms as frontline offensive tools. Military planners now fear that such systems could saturate operational theatres and exhaust traditional air defence networks far more rapidly than previously anticipated.
The CLAWS assessment notes that both China and Pakistan have significantly expanded their drone warfare capabilities in recent years, albeit with differing strategic priorities.
China is described as possessing one of the world’s most sophisticated Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) ecosystems. Its inventory reportedly includes long-endurance reconnaissance drones, stealth-enabled strike UAVs, autonomous swarming technologies, and advanced networked battlefield systems integrated with artificial intelligence. Beijing’s growing investment in intelligentized warfare has elevated unmanned systems into a core component of its military modernization strategy.
Pakistan, meanwhile, has accelerated the development and deployment of tactical drone capabilities tailored to regional operational requirements. The report points to Islamabad’s emphasis on surveillance drones, precision-guided tactical systems, and one-way attack drones commonly referred to as “kamikaze” loitering munitions. Pakistani military planners are believed to view low-cost unmanned platforms as a force multiplier capable of offsetting India’s conventional military advantages.
Strategic experts cited in the report warn that a future collusive conflict involving both adversaries would fundamentally alter the operational landscape for Indian forces. Instead of isolated drone incursions or limited reconnaissance missions, India could face continuous, synchronized aerial pressure across multiple theatres.
Such drone deployments would likely support Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) operations while simultaneously conducting precision strikes against frontline troops, logistics hubs, supply convoys, command centres, and critical military infrastructure. High-value targets including Indian Air Force bases, radar stations, ammunition depots, and mechanized formations could face persistent saturation attacks designed to disrupt operational continuity.
The report places particular emphasis on the economic asymmetry created by low-cost unmanned systems. One of the principal concerns is the growing mismatch between inexpensive drones and the costly missile systems currently used to neutralize them.
Commercially adaptable FPV drones and small explosive-laden UAVs can often be produced at a fraction of the cost of traditional air defence interceptors. In a high-volume conflict environment, using multi-million-dollar surface-to-air missiles to destroy swarms of cheap drones could rapidly deplete India’s interceptor inventories and create severe logistical strain.
Analysts argue that this imbalance is reshaping the economics of warfare globally. Lessons from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict have demonstrated how low-cost FPV drones can inflict substantial battlefield damage on armoured vehicles, troop positions, and supply chains. Similarly, conflicts in West Asia have shown the growing effectiveness of coordinated swarm tactics against both military and strategic infrastructure.
The CLAWS report contends that unmanned systems are no longer supplementary battlefield assets serving merely as “eyes in the sky.” Instead, they are increasingly becoming primary offensive instruments capable of independently shaping combat outcomes.
The assessment further warns that future drone warfare will span all operational domains simultaneously. Networked swarms could target Indian Army formations on land, Indian Air Force installations in the air domain, and Indian Navy assets operating across the Indian Ocean Region.
Such integrated attacks would significantly complicate India’s defensive planning. A coordinated multi-domain drone assault could overwhelm detection networks, delay response times, and reduce the effectiveness of isolated defensive systems operating without unified command integration.
Beyond kinetic destruction, the report also draws attention to the psychological and cognitive dimensions of sustained drone warfare.
Persistent drone presence over combat zones can create continuous mental stress among frontline personnel, forcing troops and commanders to remain under constant threat perception. According to the study, high-volume drone operations are specifically designed to degrade situational awareness, disrupt decision-making cycles, and force defenders into a reactive posture.
Military experts increasingly view psychological attrition as a central objective of modern drone warfare. Continuous aerial surveillance combined with sudden precision strikes can erode troop morale and weaken command cohesion over time, particularly in prolonged engagements.
In response to these evolving threats, the CLAWS paper argues that India must undertake a comprehensive restructuring of its force architecture and defensive doctrine.
The think tank recommends the rapid expansion of Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) systems alongside dedicated Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) frameworks capable of handling large-scale swarm attacks.
A key recommendation involves the development of layered interception networks that combine conventional kinetic weapons with advanced non-kinetic technologies. These include high-power microwave systems, directed-energy weapons such as lasers, and sophisticated electronic warfare platforms capable of jamming or hijacking hostile drones.
The report stresses that relying solely on missile-based interception systems would be economically unsustainable in future conflicts characterized by mass drone deployments.
CLAWS also calls for accelerated domestic manufacturing of low-cost counter-drone technologies. Indigenous production of affordable interceptors, anti-drone munitions, electronic warfare suites, and swarm-neutralization systems is viewed as essential for sustaining long-duration combat operations.
The study further emphasizes the need for greater inter-service coordination between the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force. Real-time sharing of targeting information, integrated command structures, and cross-service operational synchronization are considered critical for countering fast-moving drone threats effectively.
Artificial intelligence is another major focus area highlighted in the report. Analysts argue that traditional human-operated command systems may struggle to process the enormous data volumes generated during mass drone attacks. As a result, the report recommends substantial investment in AI-enabled battle management command and control (BMC2) systems capable of rapidly identifying, prioritizing, and neutralizing multiple aerial threats simultaneously.
India has already initiated several reforms in the unmanned warfare domain. Recent measures include the liberalization of domestic drone regulations, increased support for indigenous drone manufacturers, the establishment of specialized Army drone units, and the procurement of locally developed counter-drone systems by the Indian Air Force.
However, the CLAWS assessment concludes that existing operational capabilities remain largely optimized for localized or limited drone threats rather than the industrial-scale swarm warfare expected in future multi-front conflicts.
The report ultimately presents a stark strategic message: future wars in South Asia may be defined not only by fighter aircraft, missiles, and armored formations, but increasingly by dense clouds of inexpensive autonomous systems capable of overwhelming even advanced military powers through sheer scale, persistence, and economic efficiency.
