India Tests First Indigenous Long-Range One-Way Attack Drone KAL at Pokhran Range

Key facts

• India's first indigenous long-range one-way attack drone, KAL, was successfully flight-tested at the Pokhran range in Rajasthan from a vehicle-mounted launch platform.
• KAL was designed and developed by Noida-headquartered defence technology company IG Defence.
• The drone has a range of up to 1,000 km, endurance of seven to eight hours, payload capacity of up to 50 kg, and operating altitude of up to 5,000 metres above mean sea level.
• KAL uses a navigation architecture combining multi-band GNSS and inertial navigation systems (INS) for autonomous flight through its mission profile.
• The drone can be deployed for precision engagement of targets such as infrastructure, radar installations and air-defence systems, and can be integrated with IG Defence's GRID battle management system.
• KAL is ready to enter the international market subject to Indian government approvals, with several Gulf nations having evinced interest in procuring it.