Moving from drone purchases to drone partnerships

The article discusses India's strategic shift in defense procurement towards smaller, cheaper, and rapidly evolving drone systems, moving away from large, sophisticated platforms. It highlights the challenges of rapid obsolescence in tactical drones due to evolving enemy capabilities and advocates for a transition from transactional procurement to long-term partnerships with domestic manufacturers. This approach, involving continuous upgrades, collaborative R&D, and managed service contracts, aims to ensure the relevance of drone technology, foster the indigenous drone industry, and streamline procurement processes like the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) and Defence Procurement Manual (DPM).