In a groundbreaking achievement that blends youthful innovation with national defence, two 20-year-old engineering students from BITS Pilani Hyderabad have developed high-speed kamikaze drones in their hostel room, now being procured by the Indian Army.
Jayant Khatri, a mechanical engineering student from Ajmer, and Sourya Choudhury, an electrical engineering student from Kolkata, co-founded their defence-tech startup Apollyon Dynamics just two months ago. Since then, their homemade drones have been deployed by the Army at bases in Jammu, Chandimandir in Haryana, Panagarh in West Bengal, and Arunachal Pradesh.
The kamikaze drones are capable of flying at speeds over 300 kilometres per hour—nearly five times faster than typical commercial drones—and can carry payloads of up to 1 kilogram with high accuracy. Designed to be radar-evading and adaptable to Indian terrain, the drones are built using off-the-shelf components and assembled by hand.
The startup’s breakthrough came after Khatri began sending cold emails to defence personnel. One such email received a response from a colonel, leading to a live demonstration in Chandigarh. The success of that demo resulted in immediate interest from Army officials and eventual orders.
Choudhury explained that the drones’ stealth capabilities are one of their major advantages. “Our drones are not just fast. They’re designed to evade radar and strike with precision,” he said.
What began as a student robotics club quickly evolved into a full-fledged defence-tech company. Apollyon Dynamics now includes six second-year students who are working on next-generation vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and fixed-wing UAVs to enhance mission flexibility.
The team is also actively involved in training Army personnel to operate the drones, including soldiers with no prior experience. Their systems are designed for rapid deployment and ease of use, even in challenging environments.
Professor Sanket Goel of BITS Pilani praised the achievement as a model of applied innovation. “They’ve translated classroom knowledge into real-world impact. It’s inspiring,” he said. The startup’s work was recently showcased to BITS Chancellor and Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla.
Apollyon Dynamics plans to expand its UAV offerings to support longer-range missions, tactical payload delivery, and AI-assisted navigation. With the Indian Army already on board, their journey from a hostel room to military adoption marks a powerful shift in India’s defence innovation landscape.
Unlike Joy Lobo in the film 3 Idiots, whose drone never got the chance to fly, these young engineers found support, belief, and a mission. Their story proves that in today’s India, even frontline technology can be born from a student’s desk.
