India AI Weapons: India is now depending a lot on its startups to help make strong and smart military technologies. These include weapons that use artificial intelligence, drones for fighting and spying, stealth systems that are hard to detect, and tools that work from space to keep an eye on threats. Dr. G Satheesh Reddy, who earlier led DRDO, shared this at the MATRIX Summit 2025. He said over 1,000 startups are now working on defence and space technology in India. Back in 2016, only a few startups were part of this field.
He explained how India’s defence sector is now changing fast. Instead of the old way of doing things where defence projects needed a lot of money, took many years to complete, and often depended on foreign countries India is now moving toward quicker, more modern solutions. Startups are no longer just making small parts for defence machines.
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According to Outlook business, they are building full systems by themselves. Dr. Reddy said, “Traditionally, defence meant massive investments, long gestation periods, and dependency on foreign imports. But now, we’re witnessing a shift, an era where startups are building entire systems, not just supplying parts.”
These new-age startups are developing many advanced things like drones that can fly on their own and do both fighting and spying. They are also working on AI systems that can help pick out targets during battle. Other areas include radar that uses synthetic aperture methods, signal intelligence tools, imaging systems that use hyperspectral technology, and space-based tools that watch from above.
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Dr. Reddy said the government has played a very big role in this change. Schemes like IDEX, DISC, TDF and SPRINT are giving money between ₹1.5 crore and ₹50 crore to these young companies. This money helps them build and test their tech in real projects with the armed forces. He said these programs let startups work directly with the army, navy, or air force. The good thing is, they don’t have to go through the long and complicated old rules of buying and selling defence equipment.
He said that even the Defence Acquisition Procedure, also known as DAP, was changed to make it easier. “The Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) has been reformed to allow direct induction of technologies from startups, with the armed forces acting as co-developers or problem owners,” Dr. Reddy explained. He also added that earlier, startups could not take part in big tenders unless they had a lot of money. Now, even small startups can join tenders worth up to ₹300 crore, just based on how strong and smart their tech is.
He also spoke about how special offices from each force are now working with startups more closely. For example, the Army Design Bureau, the Navy’s NIIO and the Air Force innovation cells are talking directly to startups. They are sharing what kind of tools they need and working together to build those tools. He said, “From autonomous UAVs to AI-based automatic target detection, the armed forces are not just customers anymore, they are partners.”
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Space set to become an area of War
Dr. Reddy said space has now become the fourth area of war, after land, sea, and air. Startups in India are already helping by building tech that can look down from space to watch for danger, send messages, and collect intelligence. He said imaging has now improved a lot. Earlier, they could only get pictures from space with 35 cm resolution, but now it’s gone down to 12 cm. This means the pictures are much clearer and help the army act fast.
There are also programs like ‘Dare to Dream’, which were started to collect smart ideas from regular people and tech experts. This platform is inspired by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. The defence sector uses the best ideas from this platform and helps them grow into real projects using schemes like TDF and IDEX.
Dr. Reddy said the world of war has changed a lot. It is not only about soldiers on the ground anymore. He said, “The nature of warfare has changed. It’s no longer just boots on the ground, it’s hybrid, asymmetric, and tech-first.”
