India Receiving Russian Strike Drone Technologies Through Belarus

The Indian Armed Forces have begun to receive Belarusian Berkut-BM single use attack drones, after these kinds of aircraft played a central role in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian War and demonstrated their considerable value. The Berkut-BM is a jet-powered aircraft developed by the firm Indela, and reportedly uses a Chinese-made micro turbojet engine produced by Swiwin. The use of a jet engine significantly increases the aircraft’s cost, but provides a high dash speed and short engagement timeline that allows it to strike time-sensitive battlefield targets, reducing reaction times to relocate and the window for interception. The Berkut-BM has a Mach 0.34 speed and a 150 kilometre operating range, and is reportedly optimised for rapid ingress, terminal dive, and precision impact against fixed or relocatable targets.

The Berkut-BM is considered highly likely to have been developed with Russian support, with the Russian and Belarusian defence sectors being deeply integrated as part of a union state, while the Russian Armed Forces have become by far the most experienced in the world in operating single use drones for strike operations. Knowhow from extensive use of these aircraft in the Ukrainian theatre is likely to have been invaluable for the development of Belarus’ jet powered aircraft. Russia made its first known use of a jet powered single use drone, the Iranian Shahed 238, to strike targets in Ukraine in January 2024. More recently in early January it employed a new jet powered design to strike and destroy a rocket artillery launcher from a U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket artillery system.