Big Bang Boom Bags INR 200 Cr Contract From Defence Ministry For Anti-Drone Technology

Big Bang Boom Solutions, a deeptech startup working in the defence space, said it has bagged an order worth over INR 200 Cr from the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army for its anti-drone technology.

In a statement, the startup said it is the largest such contract under the Indian Defence Exhibition (iDEX) initiative and one of the largest signed by the country’s defence ministry with an Indian startup.

Big Bang Boom has developed Vajra Sentinel System, which is a solution designed to detect, track, and neutralise drones at “extraordinary ranges”. It utilises passive RF sensor technology to eliminate false alarms, and its sensor and jammer combination meets stringent military standard specifications for durability and reliability, the startup claims.

The system’s core sensor is built around AI and computer vision algorithms that enable the precise identification, classification, and location identification of drones. Besides, its decision-making matrix enables autonomous decision-making for countermeasures such as signal jamming and others. 

Big Bang Boom said it would start the execution of the defence ministry’s order immediately, ensuring timely delivery and also comprehensive training to the Indian Air Force and Indian Army for seamless integration of the technology into their defence strategies.

The ministry handed over the contract to Dr R. Shivaraman, director and CTO of the startup, in the presence of defence minister Rajnath Singh, minister of state for defence Ajay Bhatt, defence secretary Giridhar Aramane, chief of the defence staff General Anil Chauhan, chief of the air staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, among others.

“Our product pipeline and mix for the next 10 years are robust… We have already started discussions on repeat orders and export opportunities. We will now reopen our doors to financial players who can come along in this next leg of nation-building,” said Praveen Dwarakanath, CEO of Big Bang Boom.

Founded in 2018 by Dwarakanath and Dr Shivaraman, Big Bang Boom aims to co-create intellectual property that can be used by the Indian armed forces to counter asymmetric emerging threats. In addition to the anti-drone system, the startup has also won five iDEX challenges and completed three of them in diverse fields of drones, advanced chemical engineering, computer vision and cyber security. 

“The focus of the iDEX programme is to foster an ecosystem of innovation and technology development in defence… This order contracted to Big Bang Boom Solutions is a step in that direction,” said Shri Vivek Virmani, COO of iDEX.

It is pertinent to note that in an attempt to improve border security, the Indian army reportedly said earlier this year that it was planning to set up a fully indigenous anti-drone system across the country’s western borders for drones allegedly smuggling arms and narcotics in India from another nation.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had reportedly also asked the likes of BEL, Larsen and Toubro, and Adani Group to develop the anti-drone technology.

EndureAir Systems, ideaForge, and IoTechWorld are a few other drone startups catering to various needs of the defence sector.