India may soon export the indigenously developed KAL loitering munition to Gulf countries. The manufacturer of the drone, IG Defence, confirmed that it is in talks with nations in the region for the possible sale of the long-range kamikaze drone.
Developed and designed in India, the Shahed-class KAL drone has been engineered for deep-penetration missions against high-value strategic targets. According to the company, the system is part of IG Defence's portfolio of indigenous unmanned platforms "built for field deployment, secure operation, and mission-specific configuration."
One of the major features of the drone is its strike range of up to 1,000 km, and it has an endurance of seven to eight hours, allowing it to loiter over an area before carrying out time-critical strikes.
KAL has a maximum take-off weight of 200 kg and carries a 50 kg high-explosive warhead designed for critical strike missions. It cruises at 160 kmph and can reach a maximum speed of 200 kmph, while operating at altitudes of up to 5,000 metres above mean sea level.
According to the company, the drone is equipped with an advanced guidance and navigation suite integrating CRPA antenna-based multi-band GNSS and INS, enabling autonomous navigation during missions.
The loitering munition is designed to strike infrastructure, radar sites, air-defence batteries, and soft and semi-hardened targets at operational depth. It can be launched using rocket-assisted take-off or from a vehicle, giving operators flexibility in deployment.
IG Defence said KAL has been configured for field deployment, transportation and repeated mission use across demanding terrain. It also incorporates encrypted communication links, telemetry and resilient operator workflows, and is designed for controlled deployment, target awareness and clearly defined mission execution.
Speaking about the platform, Bodhisattwa Sanghapriya, founder and CEO of IG Defence, said the future battlefield would increasingly be shaped by autonomous, long-range precision-strike capabilities.
"KAL represents an important milestone in India's journey towards self-reliance in advanced defence technologies and demonstrates our ability to design and develop world-class indigenous systems," he was quoted as saying.
Sanghapriya added that as friendly nations continue to modernise their defence capabilities, India is well positioned to emerge as a trusted partner for reliable, affordable and mission-ready unmanned platforms, subject to applicable government approvals and export controls.
He said the company's vision is to build technologies that strengthen national security while contributing to India's emergence as a global defence manufacturing and export powerhouse.
