The Indian Air Force has projected a requirement for 800 medium-range swarm unmanned munition systems (SUMS) to engage hostile targets beyond 350 km, according to Tribune India.

Each system would deploy a swarm of at least 20 drones that can be launched in quick succession, loiter over a designated area more than 350 km away for at least 30 minutes, and then autonomously search for, detect and identify stationary or moving targets, the Tribune India report added.

A Ministry of Defence request for proposals dated October 25 says swarm drones "saturate enemy air-defence systems, confuse radars and give IAF decision-makers the option to strike within a few hours" against hostile command-and-control nodes, according to Tribune India.

The IAF is seeking fixed-wing platforms with a hybrid jet

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