Homegrown defence and drone startups are seeing a surge in demand as the conflict with Pakistan spurs the Indian military to further bolster its arsenal.

India needs to achieve scale by activating its manufacturing and engineering capabilities, instead of relying on foreign suppliers, according to the startups.

Industry experts pointed to Israel developing advanced defence technologies arising from necessity due to conflicts, later benefiting from large export orders. India hasn't faced the same urgency so far, but stakeholders need to collaborate when the country's sovereignty is threatened, they emphasised.

"Capacities cannot be built in a day. During peacetime, people do realise the importance of building a military-industrial complex, but it often comes too late. Warfare has changed, and technology is now absolutely critical," said Vishal Saxena, vice president at ideaForge Technology, a drone manufacturer. He added that relying on foreign technology is a vulnerability during critical times in today's battlefield. IdeaForge's drone solutions--built for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission--have been deployed in 'Operation Sindoor'. The startup placed on ground team to make any upgrades and support the military during the conflict. Industry stakeholders highlighted that the current geopolitical scenario has brought to fore the inefficiencies of relying on expensive missiles to defend against low-cost drone threats.

"The unit economics of using a ₹2.5 crore missile to take down a ₹25,000 drone don't work. Our counter-drone technology aims to bring down the cost to below ₹10 lakh, by using drones to take down other drones instead of using missiles," said Santosh Balajee Banisetty, founder of Zebu Intelligence Systems.

Experts say identifying five core manufacturers and aligning them with upstream suppliers can aid in addressing capacity issues. Banks also need to provide working capital through confirmed orders, they suggest.

Prof Satya Chakravarthy, who teaches aerospace engineering at IIT Madras, and founded The ePlane Company-a maker of eVOLT all-electric air taxi and drones-said he has received multiple inquiries from current and ex-defence personnel as well as defence-linked companies.