Surat's insideFPV says its Advik kamikaze drone held its link under active jamming at 18,000 feet, and has been delivered to the Army

Small, cheap first-person-view (FPV) drones have become some of the most important weapons of modern land warfare, and also some of the easiest to defeat. Jam the radio link between pilot and drone and a strike drone becomes a falling toy. A Gujarat start-up says it has built one that keeps flying through the jamming.

Surat-based insideFPV announced on November 5, 2026 that its Advik kamikaze FPV drone completed Indian Army trials under active electronic warfare at an altitude of roughly 18,000 feet in Ladakh, and that the system has been delivered to the Army. The Week reported on November 6 that the Army has inducted Advik.

What the company says happened

According to insideFPV's announcement:

• The drone was flown with electronic warfare (EW) systems, such as the Advanced Drone Defence System, switched on. It kept both its flight and its communication link during the trials.
• The anti-jamming capability comes from an RF communication switching link developed in-house. It uses the company's antenna rack system to combine multiple RF systems with custom-designed hardware, so the link can survive in a contested electromagnetic environment.

The company has not published technical detail on how the switching works, and this review did not establish independent test data or an official Army statement. Most coverage reproduces a company press release, so these performance claims are insideFPV's own.

Why high altitude and jamming are hard

Ladakh is one of the harshest places on earth to fly a small drone. At around 18,000 feet the thin air cuts aerodynamic performance and propeller efficiency, so motors work harder for the same lift. Freezing temperatures reduce battery performance, which shortens endurance just when the drone needs more power.

Electronic warfare is a further problem. Conflicts over the last few years have shown that FPV drones are highly effective but also vulnerable: their control and video links are usually simple radio connections that jammers can flood with noise. Militaries have responded by turning to fibre-optic tethered drones, frequency-hopping radios and links that switch between bands. insideFPV's approach is a switching link that moves across several RF systems.

Part of a wider Army drone push

Advik is not insideFPV's first work with the Army. A report in April 2026 said the company had delivered hundreds of high-altitude FPV kamikaze drones to the Army under a contract worth about ₹10 crore, after its units operated above 18,000 feet at the HIM-Drone-a-thon 2 event at Wari La in Ladakh. It is not clear whether those drones are the same platform as Advik.

The delivery is part of a fast-growing domestic market for loitering munitions and FPV strike drones.

Why it matters

For India, the case for home-grown FPV drones is about volume, cost and control. Strike drones are used up by the thousands, so imported systems are expensive and supply lines are fragile in a crisis. Locally designed drones, built around locally designed communications systems, can be adapted quickly to conditions on the northern borders, where the terrain and the EW environment are unlike anywhere else.

If Advik's anti-jamming performance holds up in wider service, it would support a broader point: Indian start-ups can do more than assemble airframes and are building the communications and electronic-warfare resilience that decides whether these weapons work. Independent validation and repeat orders would confirm it.

Sources

• https://www.aninews.in/news/business/insidefpv-successfully-completes-indian-army-trials-of-kamikaze-drones-under-active-jamming-at-18000-feet-delivers-advanced-systems-to-the-army20261105111144/
• https://www.theweek.in/news/defence/2026/11/06/tested-in-ladakhs-harshest-conditions-advik-kamikaze-drone-delivered-to-indian-army-has-huge-battlefield-potential.html
• https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/business/insidefpv-successfully-completes-indian-army-trials-of-kamikaze-drones-under-active-jamming-at-18000-feet-delivers-advanced-systems-to-the-army
• https://theblunttimes.in/surat-indigenous-advik-drone-passes-ladakh-test-at-18000-feet/76629/
• https://www.indiandefensenews.in/2026/04/insidefpv-delivers-hundreds-of-high.html
• https://yourstory.com/companies/insidefpv

• https://www.business-standard.com/content/press-releases-ani/insidefpv-successfully-completes-indian-army-trials-of-kamikaze-drones-under-active-jamming-at-18000-feet-delivers-advanced-systems-to-the-army-126110500641_1.html