Unmanned vehicles are predicted to be the future of offense and defense over air, ground, and water. Countries like China, Turkey, and so on have already become masters in UAV technology, flooding global markets with cheap prices. India is gradually opening up to newer opportunities towards the acceptance of drones in mainstream defense. The Counter Drone Systems are also expected to constantly evolve to match the increasing capabilities of new-age drones. The motto of Hawking Defence Services's (HDS)C-UAS vertical is to predict the next technological advancement in the drone industry and stay ahead in the game of Counter Drone Systems.

Started in 2021, Hawking De-fence Services is a techstartup operating in the niche area of un-manned systems. The dedicated force behind HDS is three co-founders ­ Vijayanarayanan Rapalli (MD),Rajeev Koundinya, (CEO), and Capt.Amber Singh Uban(Director).

"We are presently working on developing military grade systems capable of delivering the extra tactical advantage for the Indian defence establishments. We are parallelly working/developed Counter Drone systems as well as Man and Drone Portable Electronic Counter Measure (ECM) systems which can add more tooth to our military might", says Rajeev.

In the Drone vertical, HDS has four products. Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV is a robust fixed winged aircraft capable of flying over 8-10 hours at an altitude of 10000 ft.DroneFlare is a nextgeneration smart illumination solution designed to light up large areas and can be used for border

protection, search and rescue, military and antiterror operations, jungle warfare and more. Tactical Kamikaze drones are micro or nano category drones ideal for tactical operations requiring minimal collateral and property damages. SWARMs are drone systems that are gridded together to act as one whole. Drone swarms have both disruptive as well as destructive potential by offering low cost warfare options when compared to aircraft and missiles.

Hawking Defence Services operates in the unmanned systems niche and the company's vision is centred on value rather than competition

In the counter drone vertical HDS is promoting two products wearable antidrone system is an extremely compact and portable antidrone system capable of detecting and neutralizing individual or multiple drone threats. GPS Spoofer(Currently under development)is capable of mitigating SWARM attacks and can be operated in both manual and automatic modes.

First Major Launch in the Indian Drone Festival
The company's vision is not solely focused on competition but on value. Indian Defence is a behemoth and it may take HDS a few more years to stamp its mark in the industry. HDS's first major exposure to potential clientele happened during the Indian Drone Festival 2022 conducted by the Drone Federation of India in Delhi. Post the expo it is occupied with conducting live demonstrations of their products across the country. It has received an expression of interest from Bangladesh, Vietnam, Africa, and the Middle East for some of its products.

In the unmanned segment, firstly, it is looking forward to expanding in the 'Larger Fixed Wing' UAVs capable of carrying around 100 kg payload with an endurance of over 10 hours and a range of over 1000 km. Secondly, in the 'Micro Drone' category to be used for surveillance. A chunk of research shall be focused on next-generation Electronic Warfare payloads capable of being carried by Drones. The next area of focus would be the miniaturization of powerful antennas and radar systems. It is looking to develop civil grade antidrone systems that can be used by civilian customers to protect their privacy as stated above. HDS is expecting 2022 to hit all the milestones it is counting on. With Electronic Warfare deemed to play a significant role in the wars to come, Hawking Defence aims to integrate ECM with Unmanned Systems to give more depth to our defence systems, says MD Vijayanarayanan.