“We have the talent. We just need faster procurement, patient capital, and institutions that let deep-tech startups scale,” he wrote on X.
He underlined the urgent need for India to rethink its air defence strategy, suggesting that modern warfare is increasingly being shaped by low-cost drone swarms, and economic efficiency rather than traditional firepower.
“Cheap kamikaze drones cost a fraction of the interceptors sent to destroy them. The aggressor doesn’t need to win. He just needs to keep the math working in his favour,” Mahindra noted.
Mahindra also compared emerging counter-drone technologies, noting the limitations of laser-based systems in handling large-scale attacks.
“While lasers are much cheaper and great for precision, they only engage one target at a time. Against a swarm, that’s a problem,” he said. In contrast, he highlighted High-Power Microwave (HPM) systems as better suited for such threats, adding, “It covers a volume of space, not a point.”