From a 150-sq-ft garage to Navy supplier: Sagar Defence scales up unmanned boat production
Founded in 2015, Sagar Defence has expanded from a tiny Mumbai workspace to delivering armed unmanned surface vessels to the Indian Navy under the iDEX SPRINT programme.
Sagar Defence began in 2015 within a 150-sq-ft office in Mumbai, founded by Capt Nikunj Parashar alongside Mridul Babbar, Lakshay Dang, Saurabh Patil and Ankit Kumar. Despite surviving two heart attacks and a paralytic stroke, Parashar led the firm to become a key supplier of swarm boats and unmanned weapons for the Indian armed forces. Under the Navy's iDEX ‘SPRINT’ contract, the Pune-based firm now delivers twelve armed USVs, including the Matangi craft with 12.7 mm remote-controlled guns, anti-jamming GPS and electro-optical radar, capable of autonomous strikes or carrying commandos.
The vessels are also used by the Army for lake patrols in eastern Ladakh. Beyond boats, Sagar Defence produces multi-payload quad- and hexacopters such as the Spectre and Varuna series, and a Maritime Spotter Drone that can land on moving warships. A partnership with Israel Aerospace Industries is bringing the Point Blank VTOL precision-strike missile to India. At the same naval exhibition, other startups showcased autonomous vessels, AI vision devices for divers, and a satellite-based monitoring solution from Galaxeye.
Why it matters
The story shows how an Indian startup has become a major defence supplier, boosting domestic military capability and tech innovation.
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