Anand Mahindra pushes for defence rethink with focus on AI-led microwave tech amid growing drone warfare

Industrialist Anand Mahindra on Friday said it is crucial for India to develop indigenous, AI-enabled HPM and laser capabilities. According to him, importing solutions reactively will not help anymore. He also invited startups working on next-generation defence technologies to collaborate with his iCreate, a deep-tech startup incubator based in Gujarat.

While highlighting the changing nature of modern warfare technology, Mahindra said, “For India, this is very pertinent. Importing solutions reactively isn't a strategy. Building indigenous, AI-enabled HPM and laser capability early is.”

“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.

Newly emerging High-Power Microwave technology

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.”

Call for a layered defence architecture

Mahindra noted that no single technology would be sufficient, calling instead for a layered defence architecture. “Both are meant to complement kinetic systems (missiles, guns) rather than replace them. The future of air defence is clearly layered, with each technology filling a different niche,” he said.

What is iCreate?

On a personal note, Mahindra said he intends to push innovation in this space through his new role as Chairman of iCreate, a deep-tech incubator based in Gujarat. “I would like it to be the home for exactly this kind of innovation,” he said, inviting startups working on next-generation defence technologies to collaborate.