DRDO Floats SHIELD Programme To Build Indigenous Microwave System For Testing Drone Vulnerabilities

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has issued a Request for Proposal for an advanced S-band High-Power Microwave Integrated Evaluation System for Lethality and Damage, codenamed SHIELD, opening the door for Indian industry to build a key piece of directed-energy testing infrastructure.

A testing platform, not a weapon

The programme is being pursued under DRDO's Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme, which supports industry-led defence innovation, with start-ups, MSMEs and private firms invited to bid. Unlike a deployable weapon system, SHIELD is designed as an evaluation platform - a tool to study how high-power microwave radiation affects drone electronics, sensors and communications systems under controlled conditions, rather than a weapon meant for immediate field use.

Built around Gallium Nitride amplifiers

According to the RFP details, the proposed system will use Gallium Nitride (GaN)-based Solid State Power Amplifier technology, valued for its high power density, efficiency and resilience under demanding operational stress. The system is designed to be modular and scalable, allowing it to be adapted across a range of testing and operational environments, and is expected to generate a peak electric field strength of at least 3 kV/m in the far field - a key threshold for assessing how vulnerable electronic systems are to microwave radiation.

Building on earlier counter-drone tests

The SHIELD initiative builds on DRDO's prior work in this space, including earlier high-power microwave trials that successfully disabled quadcopter drones at a range of one kilometre. Directed-energy systems such as high-power microwaves are increasingly being explored worldwide as a 'soft-kill' alternative to conventional kinetic interceptors, since they can disable an adversary's electronics without physically destroying the platform - a capability seen as especially valuable against low-cost drone swarms. Major militaries, including those of the United States, China, Russia and the United Kingdom, have invested heavily in similar directed-energy programmes.

Part of India's self-reliance push

DRDO's pursuit of SHIELD is being framed as part of India's broader Atmanirbhar Bharat push to build indigenous capability in directed-energy and electronic-warfare technologies rather than relying on imported systems. The TDF scheme has previously backed several private defence firms and start-ups in developing niche technologies, and officials say involving industry partners in SHIELD is intended to convert early-stage research into engineered, field-ready systems while strengthening India's domestic defence-technology ecosystem.

Defence observers see the programme as a notable step toward building non-kinetic defences capable of addressing the growing threat posed by drone swarms in future conflicts.

Published on: Monday, September 07, 2026, 02:57 PM IST