Artemon Aerospace's loitering UAV: Reinventing drone operations for Indian Navy

New Delhi: As Swavlamban 2024 came to a close in New Delhi, a highlight of India's defence innovation shines brightly: Artemon Aerospace's advanced, tube-launched loitering Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), a decisive step forward for the nation's naval capabilities. 

This product was shared on the Indian Navy’s social media before this edition of Swavlmaban, which shows how much of a game-changer the technology is. 

At the heart of this new offering is Sushil Ghule, the founder of both Artemon Aerospace and Siliconia Technologies, whose vision propelled the indigenous industry closer to self-reliance in defence technology. 

The third edition of Swavlamban, themed "Strength and Power through Innovation and Indigenisation," highlights the country's ambition to evolve from a defence dependency to a technologically self-sufficiency.

Swavlamban 2024: A platform for indigenous innovation

Hosted at Bharat Mandapam in the national capital, Swavlamban 2024 convened the foremost figures in Indian defence and technology, including the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, among other senior figures. They reaffirmed India's commitment to indigenous innovation, a pillar of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for an AatmaNirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India). The event featured discussions on the structural challenges and solutions for India's defence sector, celebrating products developed through the Defence Innovation Organisation's (DIO) Innovations in Defence Excellence (iDEX) initiative and facilitating vital connections between entrepreneurs and investors.

 Artemon Aerospace's loitering UAV: Reinventing drone operations

One of the most significant technologies exhibited was Artemon Aerospace's UAV, designed to meet the stringent demands of naval operations. The agile, canisterised system offers versatility for rapid deployment. Tailored to withstand the unpredictability of maritime environments, the UAV provides extended loitering capabilities, GNSS-denied navigation, BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) control, and real-time communication—essential for India's naval strategy in the Indo-Pacific. This UAV exemplifies India's growing capability to produce strategic technology solutions independently.
 
Siliconia Technologies: Foundations of a Self-Reliant Ecosystem
 
Ghule's journey to establish Siliconia Technologies and Artemon Aerospace is steeped in the ambition to transform India's def-tech landscape. His fascination with military technology was refined during his Executive MBA studies in a specialised programme offered by the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) and Washington University in St. Louis. He pondered over India's reliance on foreign technology for critical defence solutions. This realisation inspired him to create Siliconia Technologies, which specialises in radar and satellite communications tailored to defence. His next venture, Artemon Aerospace, aimed to develop drones specifically designed to meet the operational needs of India's armed forces.
 
Siliconia Technologies quickly garnered industry attention by securing the landmark 100th contract under the Navy's SPRINT initiative for radar and satellite systems. This achievement, facilitated by the iDEX initiative, afforded Siliconia access to vital military testing facilities and feedback. Through collaboration with the Navy, Siliconia's radar systems and frequency-agnostic satellite communication solutions are helping secure India's defence communications with homegrown alternatives to foreign technology—a critical aspect of achieving self-reliance.

 
Artemon Aerospace's tactical edge: Meeting India's maritime defence needs

 

Building on Siliconia's early success, Ghule founded Artemon Aerospace with the aim of extending India's maritime surveillance and strategic defence reach. After successfully demonstrating loitering munitions under iDEX's Open Challenge 6, Artemon introduced its UAV prototype. Designed to operate in both open-ocean and coastal conditions, this compact UAV has the potential to be launched from ships and coastal stations alike, providing real-time intelligence and surveillance across high-risk areas of India's maritime boundaries. The UAV's unique features—including GNSS-denied navigation and point-to-multipoint communication—make it exceptionally suited to the Navy's need for adaptable, resilient technologies in India's Indo-Pacific security theatre.

 
Strategic partnerships and the ecosystem for self-reliance

 
Siliconia and Artemon's achievements are closely intertwined with the iDEX initiative and the Indian Navy's Technology Development Acceleration Cell (TDAC). Ghule commends the support from Commodore SK Singh of TDAC, Cmde. Partha Bhat from the Directorate of Naval Air Staff (DNAS) and Rear Admiral Vivek Dahiya, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff-Staff Requirements (ACNS-SR), for fostering a culture of innovation that encourages indigenous defence solutions.
 
Collaborations with academia, notably IIT Bombay and RV University, have also played a pivotal role in bridging theoretical expertise with practical applications. This approach is fast transforming India's defence industry ecosystem.

 
Swavlamban 2024: An intersection of policy, industry, and innovation

 
Swavlamban 2024 epitomises India's emerging defence policy focus on indigenisation and economic resilience. With the success of initiatives such as iDEX and SPRINT, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh emphasised India's shift from import dependency to domestic production. The Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) 13 and the new ADITI 3.0 programme set an ambitious roadmap for India's technological growth. At the same time, outreach sessions connected startups with investors to close critical funding gaps. Singh noted that over 2,000 proposals have been submitted to the Navy since Swavlamban's inception, of which 171 are set to receive contracts, marking a robust shift towards a sustainable, homegrown defence ecosystem.

 
International aspirations: Positioning India on the global stage

 
While Ghule's immediate focus is on augmenting India's defence capabilities, his aspirations extend to positioning India as a leader in global defence technology. Recently, Siliconia Technologies established an R&D lab in San Diego, California, leveraging advanced research facilities and international expertise to refine its innovations. "India can meet the demand for cost-effective, reliable defence technology on a global scale," says Ghule, noting that Siliconia's move into the American. market with its office in San Diego is the first step in an expansion strategy designed to meet the growing global demand for cutting-edge defence solutions.

 
Pushing technological boundaries: The challenges of defence R&D

 
Siliconia and Artemon's journey has not been easy. Developing radar systems capable of operating across diverse frequencies and ensuring UAV stability in unpredictable maritime conditions posed significant challenges. "Each hurdle compelled us to innovate further," Ghule reflects, pointing to these breakthroughs as proof of India's capacity to produce world-class defence technology. This resilience is a cornerstone of Ghule's approach, which he believes will influence India's defence sector for generations.

 
Ghule's vision for India's defence future

 
For Ghule, success lies not only in technical achievements but also in the broader impact of his work on India's defence technology landscape. "We have the talent, the vision, and now, the momentum," he asserts. Through the pioneering efforts of Siliconia and Artemon, Ghule is helping shape a future where India is recognised as a global leader in defence technology. Swavlamban 2024 has showcased the India inc’s commitment to technological independence, highlighting a transformative era for India's defence industry. Through these achievements, Ghule's influence on the sector grows, cementing India and its emerging Aerospace & Defence industry’s standing as a formidable, self-sufficient player on the global defence stage.