India, May 29 -- Twenty-six years ago, Israeli-built Searcher Mark I and II drones were introduced by the Indian Army in the Kargil war theatre for reconnaissance, while the US had tested the armed version of the MQ-1 Predator drone in the erstwhile Yugoslavia in 1995. India will be acquiring the first of 31 Predator MQ-9B drones from the US in 2028, even as its principal adversary, China, has already developed the Wing Loong II armed drone and supplied it to its tributary state, Pakistan.

Operation Sindoor, however, has shown that unmanned combat air systems (UCAVs) have limited capabilities in highly contested airspace, and the era of long-range missiles and air defence systems has dawned in the Indian subcontinent. The era of tanks le...