Two 20-year-old engineering students from BITS Pilani’s Hyderabad campus, Jayant Khatri (Mechanical Engineering, Ajmer) and Saurya Choudhary (Electrical Engineering, Kolkata), have developed radar-evading kamikaze drones capable of reaching speeds of 300 km/h.
Built in their hostel room, these drones can deliver a 1 kg payload with precision and are five times faster than conventional commercial drones.Through their startup Apollyon Dynamics, launched just two months ago, the duo secured an opportunity via cold emails on LinkedIn, leading to a demonstration for a Colonel in Chandigarh. Impressed by the drones’ speed, maneuverability, durability, and stealth capabilities, the Indian Army placed orders.
These drones are now deployed at strategic locations, including Jammu, Chandimandir in Haryana, Panagarh in West Bengal, and Arunachal Pradesh.Apollyon Dynamics has customized drones for India’s terrain, including models for long-range patrolling, tactical payload delivery, and basic UAVs for training. The team also trains soldiers with no prior aviation experience.
Now a six-student team, they are working on next-generation technologies like Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) and fixed-wing drones.BITS Pilani Professor Sanket Goel described the achievement as “heartwarming.” These drones exemplify India’s push for self-reliance in defense technology under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.