Indian firm IG Defence test-fires solid rocket motors for JWALA counter-drone micro-missile

Key facts

• Indian defence technology company IG Defence successfully test-fired two solid rocket motors for its JWALA missile programme on Saturday, in a test conducted around 4 am.
• JWALA is described as India's first indigenously developed private-sector micro-missile programme for a scalable hard-kill counter-unmanned aircraft system (counter-UAS) capability.
• JWALA MK1 is a short-range surface-to-air missile designed primarily for air defence against UAVs, with an engagement range of 2-5 km and an altitude envelope of 50 metres to 5,000 metres, and features a dual-pulse solid rocket motor with fin control.
• JWALA is being integrated with IG Defence's GRID ecosystem, an AI-powered battle-management architecture designed to connect sensors, command systems and effectors for autonomously executing authorised counter-UAS missions.
• IG Defence founder and CEO Bodhisattwa Sanghapriya said GRID is designed to bring sensors, AI, command and effectors together so the system can autonomously execute authorised counter-UAS missions from detection to engagement.
• IG Defence has demonstrated another counter-UAS system, T-SHUL BEAM, which uses electronic countermeasures as a soft-kill option, at the Indian Air Force's Dronathon 2026 exercise in Pokhran.
• India's domestic defence production reached a record Rs 1.78 trillion in 2025-26, with the private sector accounting for around 24 per cent.
• In August, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the transfer of DRDO-developed conventional missile technologies to qualified private companies for domestic production.