Kamikaze Drones Vs UCAVs: In-Depth Comparison

Hello defence lovers! Pakistan has recently inducted the Turkish Bayrakhtar Akinci HALE UCAV. Whereas from the Indian perspective, the MQ-9 Reaper deal is at a standstill. There hasn't been any significant progress in Project Cheetah which was intended to weaponize the current Intelligence Reconnaissance Surveillance (ISR) drone fleet. However, the Indian armed forces have emphasised on the induction of more Kamikaze drones. In this article, we are going to analyse why Indian armed forces are preferring Kamikaze drones over UCAVs for offensive roles. We will also compare the UCAVs with the Kamikaze drones and analyse their effectiveness from the perspective of Russia Ukraine War. What is a Kamikaze Drone? Kamikaze refers to a military tactic that involves deliberately crashing a vehicle, typically an aircraft, into an enemy target, with the goal of causing maximum damage and destruction. The term comes from the Japanese word "kamikaze," which means "divine wind." During World War II, Japanese pilots would often use kamikaze tactics, flying their planes directly into enemy ships in an attempt to sink them. The tactic was seen as a desperate measure, often used when traditional tactics had failed, and was widely considered to be a form of the suicide attack. In recent years, the term "kamikaze" has been applied to loitering ammunition, or kamikaze drones, which are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are designed to fly directly into a target and detonate on impact, similar to the original kamikaze tactic used by Japanese pilots. These drones are typically smaller and cheaper than traditional UAVs and are designed to be single-use weapons that can deliver precision-strike capabilities against high-value targets. These drones are designed to hover or loiter over a target area for an extended period until a target is identified. Once a target is located, the drone can be directed to attack and destroy the target with a built-in explosive payload. Unlike traditional missiles or bombs, which are launched from a distance and cannot change their trajectory once they are in flight, loitering ammunition provides greater flexibility and precision in targeting, as the operator can adjust the flight path and strike the target at the most opportune time. Loitering ammunition is increasingly being used by militaries worldwide due to its ability to provide real-time situational awareness, minimize collateral damage, and reduce the risk of friendly casualties. Also Read, Explained: Why Mortars Are Not Obsolete Yet? Advantages of Kamikaze Drones Over UCAVs There are various advantages of Kamikaze drones over the traditional UCAVs like the MQ-9 Predator. As the name suggests, it can loiter over its target, wait for the most opportune time and then precisely attack its target. Moreover, its flight path can be controlled by the operator thus increasing its accuracy. It can be equipped with sensors, cameras, and other surveillance equipment to provide real-time situational awareness to operators, enabling them to make more informed decisions and respond quickly to changing circumstances. Also, it can minimize collateral damage, as operators can abort the mission or redirect the drone to a safer target if civilians or non-combatants are in the vicinity. Loitering ammunition is generally inexpensive compared to traditional UCAVs like the MQ-9 Predator, which require significant resources to design, manufacture, operate, and maintain. Even compared to a sophisticated cruise missile, it is very cheap. Moreover, these drones are expendable assets because they are never meant to return to their bases from a successful mission. Hence they can be freely used in contested airspace without the fear of getting shot down. The greatest advantage of Kamikaze drones is their stealthy character. Often they are very small and made up of plastic material. They have very small radar cross-sections and are generally invisible on radar over large distances. They are also very quiet and can loiter without any significant noise. We have seen their effectiveness in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war where Russia allegedly used Iranian kamikaze drones to target Ukraine's critical infrastructure after its cruise missile stockpile started to run dry. Why Kamikaze Drones Are Just Not Enough? Although Kamikaze drones are quite effective during any combat, traditional UAVs or UCAVs have many significant advantages. Big UCAVs like the Predator have longer endurance and can remain airborne for extended periods of time, providing persistent surveillance and strike capabilities over a wider area. Loitering ammunitions can never match the capability of High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) or Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAVs. HALE or MALE UAVs have a much greater payload capacity, which means they can carry more sensors, weapons, and other equipment than loitering ammunition, allowing them to perform a wider range of missions. Moreover, big UCAVs are more versatile than loitering ammunition, as they can be used for a wider range of missions, including surveillance, reconnaissance, strike, and support operations. They also have a greater operational range than loitering ammunition, allowing them to operate at greater distances from the target area and providing more options for mission planning and execution. UCAVs are very effective when friendly forces have air supremacy. In the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, we have seen that Ukraine's Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs were quite effective when they operated in uncontested airspace during Russia's initial advance. However, when Russia started providing air cover to its ground assets, the TB2s became sitting ducks for Russia's surface-to-air missiles. This was quite obvious because most of the UCAVs are not manoeuvrable like fighter jets. They also lack self-defence suits and countermeasures which make them incapable of operating in hostile airspace. The Indian Drone Doctrine From the observations of recent procurement of the Indian armed forces, it seems that they follow a "dual-drone" policy. For peacetime surveillance and reconnaissance purposes, the Indian armed forces operate MALE UAVs which are unarmed. This is quite sensible as carrying weapons reduces the endurance of the UAVs, and 99 per cent of the time there won't be the requirement of engaging the target during surveillance missions. The Israeli Heron and Searchers are the workhorse for the surveillance role. The Indigenous Tapas also seems promising. On the other hand, Indian armed forces extensively use Kamikaze drones for offensive capabilities. In recent times they have procured multiple Kamikaze platforms like the Polish Warmate and Israeli Firefly. Indigenous companies are also making loitering ammunitions like the sky striker which will have a range of over 100 km. Both the Indian army and the airforce already had a large fleet of sophisticated Israeli Harpy and Harop Kamikaze drones. Having UCAVs in the fleet is a great advantage. Thus the Indian armed forces are planning to procure them in very limited quantities. The negotiations for American MQ-9 Reaper are going on. The army has already leased 4 armed Heron TP drones from Israel. Also, we should note that there has been significant progress in DRDO's Ghatak/AURA UCAV programme. Fulfilling the requirement with an indigenous platform without compromising the capability is the best thing we can hope for. AURA seems quite promising from that perspective. Also Read, Understanding AURA UCAV Programme