India Approves New CLRTS/D Swarm Drone System for Precision Deep-Strike and Base-Disruption Missions
The Defence Acquisition Council of India has sanctioned the Collaborative Long Range Target Saturation/Destruction (CLRTS/D) programme, an advanced indigenous autonomous swarm-drone system designed for precision deep-strike and base-disruption operations. This decision represents a significant advancement in India's efforts to introduce long-range, AI-enhanced unmanned capabilities as part of its domestic defence modernisation initiatives.
The CLRTS/D system is planned as a decentralised, robust swarm architecture capable of functioning in dense electronic-warfare environments with a range of approximately 1,100 km. The swarm units will be equipped with a variety of specialised warheads and sensor packages, with around 80% focused on high-speed top-attack, shelter penetration, and infrastructure disruption, while the remaining 20% will be dedicated to distributed intelligence, using DSMAC sensors, secure data links, and onboard AI for collective decision-making and target selection.
The system is designed to reorganise autonomously, dynamically prioritise targets, and continue missions even with degraded communications or attrition. Each drone will function both as an individual unit and a network node, sharing telemetry, target classification, and mission status to facilitate adaptive regrouping and post-strike battle assessment. Navigation will integrate INS/GPS/IRNSS and DSMAC scene-matching to operate in GPS-denied areas, with encrypted line-of-sight and BLOS links supporting coordinated operations. The propulsion system is anticipated to use indigenously developed mini-turbojet or electric-hybrid engines to balance range and agility.
CLRTS/D is engineered for strategic saturation strikes, with primary missions aimed at neutralising enemy airbases, radar networks, power infrastructure, and hardened shelters, thereby reducing an opponent’s capacity for sustained air operations. Defence planners suggest that the system could transform India's precision deep-strike doctrine by integrating autonomy, distributed AI, and long-endurance unmanned effects.
The Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of DRDO is expected to lead the development in collaboration with HAL’s tactical UAV divisions and BEL for secure data link and EW systems. Numerous private companies, including TASL, Paras Defence, NewSpace Research & Technologies, and others, are likely to contribute AI cores, propulsion subsystems, and composite airframes under the Make in India initiative. Comprehensive testing and EW validation are planned at facilities like the Chitradurga Aeronautical Test Range, with phased flight demonstrations expected before the system's induction.
Officials highlight that the CLRTS/D will be developed under stringent oversight, with secure command-and-control protocols and safeguards to ensure adherence to national policy and international commitments. Given the system’s autonomy and destructive potential, its operational deployment and any future export will be subject to multiple layers of approval and control measures.
