A few days ago, Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi, during a press conference on the sidelines of the passing-out parade of the 150th course of the National Defence Academy (NDA), said ever since he took over as Army chief, he has been talking about "Eagle on the Arm".
"This means every soldier should have an 'eagle' in their hand... Every soldier should have the capability to fly a drone. You have seen that in our academies and other places, training for this is ongoing, simulators are there," he had said.
The Army chief had also noted that the raising of drone battalions, Divyastra batteries, Shaktimaan regiments, Bhairav battalions and other technology-enabled formations was part of the force's ongoing transformation.
Now, Lt Gen Devendra Sharma, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Army Training Command, revealed how the Indian Army is translating that vision into reality.
He said the Army has drawn up a roadmap to train around five lakh personnel in drone operations over the next five years. As part of this effort, about 50,000 officers and soldiers were trained in operating Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS) last year alone.
According to Lt Gen Sharma, the push stems from lessons drawn from recent conflicts, where low-cost commercial drones have successfully neutralised highly expensive military systems, altering the nature of modern warfare and the economics of combat, The Times of India reported.
He was speaking at the graduation ceremony of the Combat Army Aviation Training School (CAATS).
To embed drone warfare capabilities at the tactical level, the Army has introduced a specialised drone warfare training framework across its 19 training establishments.
Lt Gen Sharma said the growing emphasis on autonomous systems is also transforming military aviation training. "The focus on autonomous systems is also reshaping high-tier military aviation. At CAATS, drone training is now mandatory for conventional pilots. The school is also focusing on Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T), where manned helicopters operate in tandem with swarms of autonomous drones to execute complex operations," he said.
The initiative reflects the Army's broader effort to ensure that future soldiers are not only proficient in conventional weapons like guns and tanks, but are also capable of operating drones and integrating them into battlefield operations.
