Indian Army Raises First Baaz Drone Battalion Along Pakistan Front - Its Role and Future
The Indian Army has raised its first ‘Baaz’ drone battalion at Jalandhar under 11 Corps, strengthening its drone operations along the Pakistan front. The new formation will centralise specialist manpower, surveillance and RPA operations. But Baaz is more than a new unit, it reflects the Army’s wider shift towards large-scale drone warfare, AI-enabled operations and an increasingly networked battlefield.
DEFENCE NEWS
The Indian Army has begun raising dedicated ‘Baaz’ drone battalions, with the first unit established at Jalandhar under 11 Corps, which is responsible for the western front with Pakistan. Announced earlier this year, the initiative is part of the Army’s post-Operation Sindoor transformation and is aimed at creating dedicated formations to manage the rapidly expanding unmanned warfare ecosystem.
Named after the hawk, Baaz battalions will create specialist teams for operating and sustaining RPAs and other unmanned systems, covering deployment, maintenance, data exploitation, software upgrades and integration with ground forces. They are intended to provide persistent surveillance, targeting and battlefield awareness while acting as a specialist hub for drone operations.
Why the Army Created Baaz Battalions
The Army’s drone capability has expanded rapidly from a relatively small number of RPA Flights to a force-wide ecosystem. General Upendra Dwivedi, while serving as Army Chief earlier this year, said the Army had grown from a few hundred drones to more than 50,000, with the number potentially doubling over the next two years.
That scale makes specialist manpower and sustainment critical. Baaz is designed to centralise expertise for operating, maintaining and managing large drone fleets, while frontline units retain their own tactical systems. The battalions can therefore standardise training and procedures and manage the technical and logistical requirements of sustained drone operations.
What Changed on the Battlefield
The decision reflects lessons from the LAC standoffs with China and Operation Sindoor, alongside wider lessons from recent global conflicts like Russia-Ukraine and Armenia-Azerbaijan. Drones have moved beyond basic surveillance to support target acquisition, artillery correction, precision strikes, Large loitering-munition attacks, electronic warfare and battlefield assessment.
The Army is consequently building a layered drone structure. Ashini drone platoons provide infantry battalions with immediate tactical surveillance, artillery units employ drones and loitering munitions, while Baaz provides a dedicated specialist layer. FPV drones, ISR UAVs, armed UAVs and logistics drones further expand the roles unmanned systems can perform at the tactical level.
What Drones Could Baaz Operate?
Baaz battalions are expected to operate a diverse fleet rather than a single drone type. At the high end are long-endurance platforms such as the MQ-9, while MALE UAVs like Heron and Hermes systems will provide persistent surveillance and intelligence. The Army will also operate large number of Indian-made tactical UAVs.
The broader ecosystem will include smaller surveillance drones, armed UAVs, FPVs, loitering munitions and logistics drones. In the near future, the fleet could also expand to more advanced attack platforms, including the DRDO’s Ghatak stealth UCAV, alongside other indigenous armed and strike UAVs. This would give Baaz formations capabilities ranging from close-range reconnaissance and rapid strikes to deep-area surveillance, stealthy penetration and forward resupply.
From Buying Drones to Building a Drone Force
The Army’s focus is increasingly shifting from procurement to absorption. Having tens of thousands of drones requires trained operators, maintainers, data-processing capabilities, communications networks, batteries, spares and rapid replenishment. Baaz provides a dedicated organisational structure to manage these requirements rather than leaving them scattered across conventional units.
This is part of a wider transformation that includes Bhairav Battalions, Rudra All-Arms Brigades, Divyastra Batteries, Shaktibaan Regiments and Ashini platoons, alongside division-level Unified Control Centres for coordinating UAS and counter-UAS assets. The aim is to connect tactical drones, specialist platforms and higher-level command networks into a single operational architecture.
The Future of Baaz
The first Baaz battalion is likely to be the beginning of a larger expansion rather than an isolated formation. As the Army’s drone inventory grows, more specialist units could be required to operate larger fleets, process their data and sustain operations across the western and northern fronts.
The next stage will be AI-assisted data exploitation, autonomous systems, secure networking, electronic warfare and counter-drone integration. The long-term objective is not simply to field more drones, but to create a force capable of continuously sensing, striking, resupplying and adapting across a contested battlefield.
Baaz therefore marks an important organisational shift: from having drones across the Army to building a dedicated force structure around them.